The Immortals
by pokemonfan1992
Summary: Sequel to A Journey For Love Misty is cured, but there's no time to relax or celebrate. A new journey awaits Ash and there's more on the line then ever before. The threat that Lucario warned Ash about has arrived and it's going to take all of Ash's skills and friends old and new to help stop the world ending up in a ruined state once the threat has been averted
1. The Immortals

Ash read the piece of paper again, taking in the seven translated lines of temple writing on it for like the hundredth time that morning. Ash, Brock and Misty arrived in Callidus City the night before, but the professor wasn't available to meet with them and instead set up a meeting with them for in less than twenty minutes time. Ash, Brock and Misty spent the night in a pokemon center five minutes from the university; Steven had called ahead and booked it since they had decided they would properly be staying the night even if they did get to meet the professor last night.

Ash journey to the region hadn't been a bad one; the plane that the champions had supplied him with was amazing, it could have sat another ten maybe twelve people more. There was also three presents sat on the seats of the plane with a name on each of them. Inside Ash's was a new state of the art communicator watch that has every function Ash could think off including phone and hologram technology, state of the art map capabilities, a complete collection of pokedex entries and that can like everything else on the watch be accessed by voice access or by searching manually. It came with instructions of how to use and by the end of the journey Ash knew where everything was including the homing beacon that placed it in to be used if Ash is in serious trouble and needs help, it will alert all the other champions and then they'll come and help or send someone else to help.

Brock and Misty had been supplied with new watches as well, but they aren't as high tech as Ash, they don't have the pokedex entries plus a few other things. They managed to programme each others numbers into each watch and the pilot informed them that each of Ash's friends will also be getting a watch each in due time when they get back to the champion's island and Ash was glad it means that no matter how far apart them are during this journey they can always be in contact at a moments notice.

Ash didn't get a wink of sleep last night because his mind was working overtime thinking about the Immortals and what they are going to learn today from the meeting with the professor. After failing to fall asleep for a couple of hours Ash slipped out of the bed and moved to the roof of the pokemon center calling out Lucario starting a training session with him. The session was productive and Ash managed to summon balls of aura in both hands and then have each hand do a different type of aura manipulation to the other, he grabbed Lucario with his left while holding a shield with his right to block the attacks Lucario was firing at him to try and stop Ash from completing the grab.

Ash also managed to learn something new that even Lucario hadn't thought of, he clapped his hands together with the aura still covering them to congratulate himself on having a good session and it caused a sort of aura sonic wave that blasted out all around him knocking Lucario off his feet and slightly damaging anything within eight feet of Ash. Once Lucario had got up they agreed it be very helpful, but they shouldn't try it again till they're somewhere open so not to damage anything useful that may be around them.

"Ash are you ready to go meet the professor", Misty asked placing her hand on his shoulder lightly so not to startle him, she must of known he was in his own world.

"Yeah let's go", Ash replied placing the writing translation back into his backpack zipping it up standing up placing it onto his shoulder letting Pikachu jump onto his shoulder before slipping his hand into Misty walking with her to join Brock who was waiting for them by the door.

Ash's trio moved through the pokemon center moving through the door and onto the streets of Callidus City moving down the pavement heading towards the huge university building that even from their position they can see clearly. "Ash i heard you get up during the night, couldn't you sleep?" Brock inquired.

"No too much going on in my mind last night, so i thought i get out the room so not to wake you or Misty with my toss and turning. I did some training on the roof with Lucario, it was really productive so i don't mind missing one nights sleep", Ash replied.

"We were already awake Ash, i couldn't sleep either and Brock was only in a light sleep ", Misty admitted.

"Oh right sorry, well i guess there's no harm done then if you were both already awake. I'm glad you both agreed to come with me, there's no one else i rather have with my right now, my girlfriend and my best friend", Ash replied and both Brock and Misty smiled at him.

"We're glad to be here, it's nice hanging out with you two again. I love the others, but i don't know we've got something special", Brock answered and Ash returned the smile Brock and Misty were giving him.

"Same", Ash and Misty replied together as the trio reached the door to the university. Brock pushed the door open and Misty and Ash moved in after him following him towards the reception desk.

The receptionist looked up smiling at them, "Hello, i don't think i've seen you three before, are you new students? How may i be of help?"

"No we're not students. But we're here to meet a professor who i believe works here, he specialises in ancient writing", Ash replied and the receptionist nodded at him.

"Ah yes he's expecting you, please take a seat and i'll just alert him that you've arrived so that he can come down and meet you and take you back to his office", the receptionist replied and Ash nodded leading the other two to a set of seats a few feet away from the desk watching as the receptionist picked up the phone dialling a number exchanging a few sentences with the person on the other end before placing the phone back down smiling at Ash. "He's on his way down; he shouldn't be more than a minute."

"Thanks", Ash replied and she nodded at him turning her attention to her computer typing away on it.

Ash heard the footsteps a few seconds before a guy who Ash assumed was the professor moved into view smiling at Ash, Misty and Brock. All three of the rose as he stopped in front of them, "Hi i'm Professor Alan Jackson, but you can call me Alan. It's nice to meet all three of you, um can I ask which one of you two is Ash", professor Jackson said looking between Ash and Brock.

"I'm Ash, this is Misty and this is Brock", Ash replied and the professor extended his hand out to Ash and Ash took it shaking it before watching as the professor shook both Misty's and Brock's hands as well.

"Let's head to my office and we can discuss more about why you're here, I would really love to hear about you visit to the temple as well. I'm most excited to hear about the secret room you found as well", Alan suggested and Ash nodded at him.

"Sounds good, time is of the essence", Ash replied following after the professor as he moved back towards the way he came. Misty moved to stand next to Ash taking his hand in her. Brock up the rear following the others into the lift the professor had called.

Ash watched the lift numbers flash past until it stopped on level eight and the doors opened and the professor stepped out not waiting for them before heading down the corridor. Ash, Misty and Brock rushed down the corridor after him watching as the professor stopped at a door nearly all the way down the corridor opening it holding it open for them as they stepped through. The professor let the door close before moving round Ash's trio taking a seat behind the desk that is taking up sixty percent of the room motioning for Ash's trio to take a seat in the three chairs that he had set up on the opposite side of the desk to him. Pikachu slide down of Ash's shoulder sitting down on Ash's legs focusing on the professor as well.

"Right down to business, i'm sure you're wondering what the rest of the writing said and to learn more about the Immortals that it mentions, that's what professor Oak said in his reply to me", Alan said and Ash nodded.

"Yes please, anything you can tell us will be a great help", Ash replied.

"Right that's fine, the translation programme i've wrote is still translating the last of it, so far there is twenty pages and i'm sure you'll agree with me, it'll probably be easier for you to read them yourself than for me to read everything that is on in those pages. You can read them on your way to your next location, Alan answered and Ash nodded.

"Sure, Alan I met with the champions of the Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos region yesterday and we were wondering if you be able to come back with us and explain everything you're going to tell me to a group of people that we are summoning to this island the champions own. If this adds incentive you could bring your family the island is actually a holiday resort they could be sunning themselves while you're in the meeting", Ash asked hoping that the champions will agree to put his family up, they did ask him to get Alan to the meeting.

"Um I don't see why not Ash, i've got a few days of leave owed to me and i'm sure my wife and daughter would love to have a small holiday, when do we need to leave?"

"Um not till tonight really, so you can go home and talk to your family in person once we've finished", Ash replied and Alan nodded.

"Yeah that's a good idea, right down to business, the Immortals. Before i tell you the history of the Immortals first let me explain what the Immortals actually are. The Immortals are the ancestors the pokemon or at least Lucida is, she created the first pokemon, but they were a lot different to the ones we see now."

"Lucida who's that?" Ash asked.

"You don't know who Lucida is, that can't be. Okay no worries let me explain something quickly it's to do with some of the writing in the temple. Ash you said you found a secret room right", Alan asked and Ash nodded, "Well on that wall there was writing a picture of a wolf type creature with wings right?" Alan added.

"Yeah i pressed the wolf and the room opened for me", Ash answered.

"Well the writing on the wall reads like this, the final room shall only show itself to Lucida's chosen champion when the time for her to rise again arrives, they must be a hero of the pokemon and a have a pure heart."

"Ash the voice we heard, it must of been Lucida", Lucario's voice echoed inside Ash's head.

"Yeah it must have been", Ash replied before speaking to Alan again, "Is that wolf type creature one of the Immortals", Ash thought back to what Lucida had said about it being her daughter.

"Well it's not one of the ones i'm about to explain in a minute, but there is a legend of a seventh immortal, but nobody knows anything about her", Alan answered.

"Oh right i see, right let's get back to the five Immortals we do know about then", Ash replied and Alan nodded.

"Right the first immortal is called Umbra. He's the father of the Immortals, plus the husband of Lucida. Umbra is a huge demonic looking creatures, he has a thin muscled body with a devil like face and huge bat like wings that come out his back and extended nearly twice a far as his whole body. He also has long sharp claws connected to his muscled arms and he has powerful legs that he uses to jump fifty metres into the air before flying off to get an aerial advantage against others."

"He was the huge shadow looking over a village I saw in the temple wasn't he?" Ash asked Alan.

"Yeah he was, he's the most powerful of the five Immortals, legend says he is the master of the darkness and death. The next immortal is called Tempest and he is the eldest child of Lucida and Umbra. He's a mix of a dragon and a bird, his body and head are dragon like, while his wings are huge and bird like with feathers covering them, his legs are huge bird talons and his arms end with dragon claws, he's the master of the sky.", Alan answered before continuing onto explain the next immortal.

"He was another picture from the temple that you saw Ash", Brock said and Ash nodded looking at him confused, "Oh Max showed is all the pictures on the way back", Brock added understanding why he was looking confused.

"Right now for the remaining three Immortals, "The third one is called Fissura. He is the second son of Lucida and Umbra, Fissura has the appearance of a Minotaur made of earth that can fight on both its hind legs or on all fours depending on if it's on the defence or attack he's the master of the earth. The fourth Immortals is called Hydris, she is the only female member of the Immortals that attacked the world. Hydris can battle both on land and water, but battles best in a water source. Hydris is a huge coral armoured newt that can stand up right on land and has a fin going from her head to all the way down her back and along her tail she's the master of the water. The final immortal is Flareo the youngest son and the master of fire immortal. Flareo is a huge hydra with green flames running down each head and neck joining together where they meet continuing down its back and tail." Alan said and Ash's thoughts went back to the green fire he found in the temple back in the Miracle Islands, it must be from Flareo, they must have collected some from him sometime in the past.

"Do you know what Lucida looks like?" Ash asked.

"Yes I do, it's said that she's a dragon, but she's no ordinary dragon. She has scales of every colouring covering her body in a pattern and it's said that the suns glistens off them causing a beautiful pattern on the ground beneath her as well", Alan answered and Ash nodded, she sounds amazing Ash thought to himself.

"She must be an amazing sight to behold", Ash replied and Alan nodded.

"Okay now that you understand a bit about the Immortals I want to talk to you about a small section of the writing in the temple. It tells the story about how the Immortals first appeared and how they lived peacefully with the human race until one day changed everything. Guys what i'm about to tell you will change everything you know about the pokemon world, some of the stuff you've heard did happen, but not in the way that you believe. The world was created long before Arcues, Dilaga, Palkia and Giratina came to be, but it was a different world and it faced a battle that scarred it."

"What happened to start the war?" Misty enquired.

"Well i don't know the exact details because they've been lost through time, but i do know that there was an accident that started the first great battle this world has ever seen. The Immortals minus Lucida the wife of Umbra and the mother of the rest attacked a village that a tribe of humans lived vowing revenge for the wrong that they had done to them. It was a massacre and only a few people survived and it was because of those few survivors that word of the attack got to not just the rest of the humans, but to Lucida. She faced her family and asked why they did what they did and they were only resetting the scales of the world. Lucida looked at her family and saw the truth her family was mad and they needed to be stopped. Lucida met with a tribe of humans who called themselves the guardians of the light. She shared with them secrets that only the Immortals were supposed to know and created the very first pokemon to go to battle with her and the humans against the Immortals. The war raged on and the casualties were massive, nearly the whole tribe was wiped away and all the pokemon were wiped out, before Lucida rose up to the sky and calmed her family entombing the Immortals plus herself in six stones each of a different colour reflecting their powers", Alan said and Ash couldn't help, but think of the stone Celebi had seen the group of humans find six months ago, he's now even more sure that the men Celebi saw found one of the Immortals.

"Lucida turned herself to stone to save the world what a hero, what happened next", Brock asked.

"That had been her plan all along and she asked the humans that the stones be placed somewhere no one could find them again this was before they thought up the idea of the temples. Just encase someone did find them, Lucida wanted that there be something to show the humans the way forward again and a way to wake her again and so she created a staff that was given to elder of the village before the final battle that was to be passed down to someone new each generation so that battle against the Immortals could continue if needed and with her last bit of energy she created the first pokemon egg giving it powers close to the Immortals. The egg would hatch into Arcues who would go onto create Dialga, Palkia and Giratina who would then change the world to what we know today healing the damage that had been done during the battle. The true beginning of the world was lost as the years went by till the only reference was the walls of the temples like the one you've visited in the Miracle Islands", Alan replied and Ash nodded at him as did Misty and Brock.

"And they did rise again didn't they", Ash asked thinking about how the battle just described must of happened more than two thousand years ago.

"Yes they did, a few times over the years, but the last one was nearly two thousand years ago and it was during that battle that the staff that was first created to wake her was broken into pieces, one of them which i believe you've got now", Alan answered and Ash nodded unzipping his bag pulling out the piece of the staff placing it on the desk in front of them all. "Wow I never dreamt i live to see the day that a piece of the staff would be right in front of me, but i know what it means and it frightens me."

"The Immortals are returning", Ash said and Alan nodded.

"Yeah they are and it seems Lucida has chosen you to go into battle with her this time. Ash this battle is going to be like nothing you've ever faced in your time and i'm sure you've faced some hard battles in your time and i've got a part to play in this battle by helping you to find the stones and staff pieces", Alan continued.

"Sounds good, we don't think we've got long before the Immortals show up and i need to find those staff pieces and then find Lucida and wake her" Ash replied.

"Indeed and i know where she is", Alan answered.

"Where?" Ash screeched.

"Well if you follow me i'll show you", Alan replied getting up form his chair moving towards the door. Ash let Pikachu move back to his shoulder before jumping up out of his seat placing the piece of the staff back into his bag for safe keeping while moving towards the door with Misty and Brock behind them.

Alan lead them back to the lift pressing the call button stepping as soon as it opened waiting for Ash's trio to step in before pressing the basement floor key on the lift. The doors closed and the lift stated to move down till it reached the basement floor, the doors opened and everyone moved out. Alan led them over to a door with a key card entry and he pulled a card out of his pocket swiping it and Ash watched the machine flash green before he heard the door unlock. "This is sort of the reason i work here, it's actually the reason the university was built here, so that it could be explored to gain any knowledge on the past", Alan said as he moved through the door flicking on a switch next to the door.

Ash watched as the light started to flicker on and he realised that he was looking a temple similar to the one Max, Tracey and he had explored less than a week ago, but it was a lot smaller than the other one. The light continued to flicker on as they moved through the first room, Ash looked around at the writing and could see it was slightly different to the stuff he seen at the other temple. "Alan the writing here is different to the writing i found in the other temple", Ash stated and Alan nodded.

"Yeah it is, this temple seems to be dedicated to one thing, Lucida. Ash i've added the translations from here to the one you've sent me so you can read that later as well. What i want to show you is on the next floor, this temple is a lot smaller than the one you were in and all the others ones you're probably going to visit on this journey", Alan answered as they reached a set of stairs, the lights came on as they reached the bottom of the stairs and Ash couldn't help but let out a gasp as he looked at the wall in front of him.

There was a huge picture of Lucida the way Alan had described her earlier with a few lines of writing below her picture, but it was what was around her and the writing in a circle pattern that most interested Ash, there was eight groves in the walls very similar to the shape of the keystone that he had found in the secret room of the temple. "This is Lucida's resting place, the groves in the wall they're for the keystones", Ash said and Alan nodded at him.

"Ash take the keystone out of your bag and hold it in front of you", Alan suggested and Ash did as he asked taking the stone out of his bag holding it in front of him, it started to glow and and so did the top most grove as the same writing on the stone appeared in the grove.

"Ash that bit of writing on the stone is just one word, its trust. The writing below her reads like this, My chosen hero, summon the qualities that the stones hold dear and place them in the groves awaken me, together we shall bring peace back to the world and set right the wrongs that my family has committed", Alan informed Ash.

Ash looked down at the stone and smiled, trust seems the writing word really, he had to trust Lucida's voice back in the temple when she told him to send his friends away and he did and he discovered the secret that the room held. "Ash you've come", Lucida's voice said inside Ash's head.

"Lucida is that you?"

"It is Ash; I see you've discovered who I am. I wanted to tell you back at the temple, but we didn't have much time and we still don't Ash. Ash right this second I feel my family rising, you need to hurry and find the rest of the stones and staff pieces. I need to awake and help you stop my family from doing anything that we can't come back from", Lucida answered.

"Don't worry i'll find them, i'm not alone i've got friends who are going to help me", Ash replied.

"Good, Ash i don't want to keep this connection going for to long it's stronger now that you're here, but i want to save my energy just encase you need my help in the other regions. Ash when you wake me i'll explain everything i promise. Ash good luck i know i made the right choice making you my champion i've been keeping an eye on you since the day you first started your pokemon trainer journey and you've impressed me time and again."

"I'll be as fast as i can Lucida, speak to you again soon", Ash replied as the connection ended.

"You just spoke to Lucida didn't you?" Misty asked and Ash nodded.

"She spoke to you, what did she sound like?" Alan asked.

"Loving, Powerful and trustworthy", Ash replied.

"Amazing, i wish i could speak to her just once, alright let's head back to my office and we'll discuss the locations of not just the keystone and staff pieces, but the possible locations of the Immortals, maybe your champion friends can use that information to slow down their awakening", Alan answered and Ash nodded at him following Alan with Misty and Brock either side of him.


	2. Temple Locations

A few minutes later they were sat back in Alan's office and he had spread a map of the pokemon world across the table, Pikachu had returned to the position on Ash's legs like he been earlier. Ash could see different colour dots across the different regions and wondered what each colour meant. Ash looked for a dot in the sea next to the Hoenn region and he spotted it straight away, a red dot sat on the blue of the ocean. "Alan this dot here is this where you think Hydris is buried?"

"Um yeah it is, the red dots show the locations of all the Immortals. How did you know that?

"It came up yesterday in a conversation I had, i just wanted to confirm what they said was true", Ash replied.

"What was the conversation about?" Alan answered.

"Her stone has been found by a group of men about six months ago, one of my pokemon friends saw him and told my Lucario who told me. Alan is there anyone else in the world who can translate the writing other than you?" Ash asked trying to figure out how they found her.

"Um there's another two or three that i've met, but i think there is a few more each one having found different texts and translated them. The two i've met each helped me understand some of the writing i found in other sources than the temples and told me about some of the writing that they had found. In return i exchanged some of the writing i had translated."

"Did you tell either of them the location of Hydris?" Brock asked.

"Um i might have given them the location of Hydris, but i can't be sure" Alan answered.

"Is there anyone else that you've shared your findings with?" Misty asked joining the conversation as well.

"Well the university board who fund my work, my family and my apprentice Clyde, why do you think someone might have told the people who your pokemon friend saw?" Alan replied.

"Um i'm sure it's got nothing to do with you or anyone you've told about the immortals, as you've said there are other people who know about the writing it's probably got something to do with them. Right let's forget about pointing blame for now and focus on talking about the locations of the Immortals plus the temples i need to visit to find the keystones and staff pieces. If i'm quick enough it won't matter who told them about Hydris's resting place because we'll stop them from doing a damage and place them somewhere that no one will ever find them again", Ash answered and Alan nodded at him.

"Right let's quickly discuss the other Immortal's locations and then we'll discuss where you need to go to find the keystones and staff pieces. Ash unlike the temples you'll be visiting for the staff pieces, the immortals resting places aren't as big or as informative. The temples are as small as the one we just visited, but unlike that one there isn't any way to get into their room unless they blow the wall that divides the room that the stairs lead to and the final room. Right on to the locations and we'll start with Umbra's his is located in the Sinnoh region and is sat on a island with two completely different looking sides, on the temple side of the island there is four large mountain peaks and right in the center of this is a large area that the temples sits right in the middle of, the other side has nothing of interest, but it there that you usually come ashore on and then you walk to the mountains that take the tunnel that leads you through the mountain and to the area that the temple is located at", Alan replied pointing to the red dot sat on an island north west of Canalave City and directly west of Iron Island.

"Okay us or whoever we send there can land on that side of the island with a plane really as well, saving having to land in Sinnoh and then heading to Canalave City to board a ship to the island", Ash said and Alan nodded at him.

"Yeah you could, right onto the next one Tempest is located in Unova and is located Lostlorn Forest this actually the smallest of all the temple and the entrance is hidden behind a waterfall that is located in the forest. Any questions?" Alan asked and all three of them shook their heads at him, sounds pretty simple as thought to himself, "Alright onto Fissura's temple is located under Mount Silver the only way to enter it is to enter the tunnel that is located half way up the mountain and then move down through the mountain till you find the stairs that were carved out that leads to the temple" Alan continued.

"The temple is actually under the mountain, how did they put it there?" Misty asked.

"Well the writing i've found said that it took a year, but they carved out the path slowly placing supports up to make sure they didn't cause a collapse and then built the temple under it to the hold the land above it using the supports to stable the walls of the temple", Alan answered.

"Cool", Ash replied.

"Right onto the last immortal Flareo who is buried in the Kalos region. His burial place is on route 22 in the Kalos region, his burial place is called the chamber of emptiness, but that isn't actually correct. Yes on first looks it does look like it holds nothing, but like the other temples it has a obstacle that block the way to it, this time there's a secret door that opens it you press three part of the cave simultaneously. The door opens and the stairs to the temple appears for you to walk down and enter the temple", Alan continued taking control of the conversation again.

"Alan you say that all the temples had obstacles, what did Hydris's temple? Or was it just because it was underwater", Brock asked and Ash looked at Alan for an answer he been about to ask the same question himself.

"No it wasn't always underwater actually the land it was on got worn away by the sea until it finally gave way and sunk under the sea, there's a theory that even in stone form Hydris controlled the sea long enough to place her temple in the sea her home. The obstacle that temple had was a locking mechanism that needed you to line up the rings in the order for the door to open", Alan answered.

"Do you know the order?" Brock replied.

"Yeah i found it in the same writing that told me Hydris's location and if the men who your pokemon friend saw in the temple got the information about Hydris's location from someone i told then they probably got the information about unlocking the door as well", Alan answered and Ash couldn't help, but frown at Alan. Ash knows Alan isn't to blame if Celebi is right and they've found the stone he wasn't to know that they go and get the stone, but he still can't help, but feel a bit annoyed/angry.

"Okay let's move and talk about the keystones and staff pieces like i said earlier if we can visit all the temples and collect all eight stones and staff pieces then we can stop whoever we're up against before they do to much if any damage to the world", Ash said and Alan, Misty and Brock nodded at him.

"Okay minus the one you've already found in the Miracle Islands there's a temple in each region that you'll need to visit in the pokemon world. I'll point them out individually and then we can discuss any questions you have about each one." Alan said and Ash's trio nodded at him. "We'll start with the temple in the Kanto region, the temple is located where route thirteen and route fourteen meet in between Lavender Town and Fuschia City. To get to it you must move through a small forest and in the center is a hill the land has grown over the top part of the temple, but the entrance is still usable. You won't be able to see it as you arrived, but if you walk around the hill to the other side you'll have reached the entrance", Alan explained.

"Right understood, now what about the Johto one", Ash answered.

"The Johto temple is located on route forty five south of Blackthorn City. The entrance to the temple can only be reached by moving through a cave that is located at the top of the route, the cave is pitch black so you'll need to bring some sort of lighting device or a pokemon who can use flash. You have to move through the cave to the other side of it where it will open to a lake area and the temple is sat on an island in the center. This temple is some what different to the others, it's not as wide, but it's deeper than the others to make up for it, there's about twice the floors compared to lets say the one you visited in the Miracle islands", Alan informed Ash's trio.

"Right, how long do you think it'll take to reach the bottom floor of the temple?" Ash answered before asking a question.

"Um i would say at least an hour maybe two depending on how fast you move and if you stop to check out the temple walls", Alan answered and Ash nodded at him to confirm he understood, "Shall i move onto the next one?" Alan asked and Ash nodded at him again. "Okay Hoenn's temple is located in the center of the desert near route one hundred and eleven. There's not much i can really say about this one, you just need to reach the center of the desert and you should find it", Alan continued pointing the temple out on the map.

"Okay sounds easy enough, but it probably isn't. Let's move onto Sinnoh am i right in saying it's located near Snowpoint City", Ash replied and Alan nodded.

"Yes you are right Ash; Sinnoh's temple is located near Snowpoint City on route how did you know?" Alan answered.

"My friend Gary told me he stumbled upon it a few weeks back when he was in that area", Ash replied.

"I see, right well i'll just quickly explain how to get to it, you'll reach a crossroads near Lake Acuity and you need to head left and follow the path and you'll find the temple close to that path. Right we'll move onto the Unova, Unova's temple is located on the Moor of Icirrus and is located in the north west corner", Alan answered.

"Right that five down just two to go, right onto Kalos", Ash said looking at the map focusing on the Kalos region looking for the dot that will show the location of the temple.

"The Kalos temple is slightly harder to get to, the move of the lands and oceans have made the entrance to this temple slip underwater. It's located in the south of Azure Bay and it's a bit different to the others, unlike the other it's final room it's on the highest floor not the lowest, the temple was built upwards on an island that over time like Hydris's resting place was battered by the sea and winds causing it to erode. Because the island is underwater the first two floors are flooded so you'll have to swim through them till you reach the third floor where you'll be able to walk again."

"Have you been to it?" Misty asked.

"Well not personally, but i have sent people to it and they managed to swim through the two floors and reach the next floor. Misty i've sent people to every single one of the temples to make sure that my translations were completely correct and i'm happy to say that they all were i'm not really the adventuress type of person i rather sit behind a desk and explore the world in books and other types of texts. When you reach that temple i recommend taking diving gear and strong torches, the journey down to the entrance and then through the two floors can take up to thirty minutes and the temple is very dark i'm sure you found the something at the one in the Miracle islands Ash", Alan answered and Ash nodded in agreement at him about the darkness of the temples.

"Okay onto the final temple, where is it located?" Ash asked.

"Finally the temple in this region is located in the far north, the area is called the Crystal Mountains and it's a beautiful area. The mountains actually look like they are made of crystals and when the light shines on them they give off a beautiful arrangement of colours on the area around them. The temple is located right the center of the mountains and can only be reached by taking a hot air balloon as there is no way through the mountains as no one wants to ruin the beauty of the mountains by making a path through them, the university has a balloon stored nearby that you can use when it comes to visiting it. I would love to take you to it now, but it'll take close to a day to get there and back and unfortunately we just don't have that time today. Maybe after the meeting with the champions this could be your first destination", Alan replied.

"Yeah don't see why not Alan, right well that's all the temples; is there anything else you need to tell us?" Ash answered.

"Um no not that I can think of right now, if anything does come to me we can discuss it on the plane to the island later", Alan replied and Ash nodded at him.

"Sounds good, thank you for all this Alan, right i'm sure you've got a lot to do before we leave tonight such as talking to your family so I thought we head off and have a look around the city for a bit and we can meet up again later at the airport", Ash said placing Pikachu back on his shoulder before rising out of his chair watching as Misty and Brock did the same in the seats next to him.

"Yeah sounds good Ash, i'll bring all the translations for you to read on the plane, there's loads of amazing places in the city for you to see, i know you'll love them. It's been nice meeting you three and i'll see you again later", Alan answered rising from his chair as well extending his hand out shaking Ash's hand followed by Misty and then finally Brock leading them to the door opening it waving to them as they stepped out moving down the corridor to the lift pressing the call button. Ash's trio stepped into the lift and Alan was lost from their sight as the door closed again and the lift started to move down.

"Well that was informative", Brock said and both Ash and Misty nodded at him.

"Yeah it was, we know where all the temples are so we've completed part one, but we've still got a long way to go before we finish this journey and I don't know why, but i just have this bad feeling that we're still missing something and it worry that it's something really large and we'll regret it soon enough", Ash replied.

"What are we missing?" Misty asked.

"Mist we still don't know who we're up against, who were the men Celebi saw and how did they mange to find out where Hydris was", Ash replied.

"Yeah you're right Ash, Ash maybe the others will have had some luck with that, we'll just have to wait and see when we meet up again at the island", Brock answered as the lift doors opened and they stepped out moving through the university past the receptionist that smiled at them as they passed her moving out the door and back into the fresh air of the city.

"I guess there's nothing we can do right now, so let's just push it to one side for the moment, i'm starving why don't we go and see if we can find somewhere to have some lunch and then we can have a look around the city for a bit", Ash suggested and his two friends nodded at him. Misty slipped her hand into Ash's and Brock moved to stand on the other side of Ash as they moved away from the university moving into a new part of the city.


	3. Home

Petalberg City came into view as May and Max reached the top of the hill. Home, May thought to herself as her and Max started to move down the hill together. May's got used to being away from her parents when she's goes on her journeys, but this time it's different. After everything that's happened over the last few weeks since she and Max left Hoenn to meet up with Ash, she just wants to hug both her parents and tell them how much they mean to her and to let them know that she think that they're the best parents her and Max could ever of hoped for.

This journey wasn't an adventure that really had a fun feel to it, the journey was to save Misty so they didn't have time to take their time and have fun as a group like they did the other times they travelled together. The journey had been a success and they managed to save Misty and May is really happy about that, but the thoughts of what if? still stays with May even now.

All during the time in the Miracle Islands May kept thinking if we don't make it back in time Misty will die and Ash will never been the same again as he truly loves Misty. May was worried he would go in a spiral of depression and self destruction, the smile that she has got so used to seeing every time she meets up with Ash will never again show itself he'll be a shell of the boy she met all those years ago at professor Birch's lab.

May and Max arrived back in Hoenn the night before with Steven in Lilycove City and they made it as far as Slateport City before all three of them were exhausted and agreed to call it a night getting a room at the pokemon center before setting off again this morning.

Steven parted company with May and Max thirty minutes earlier when the path split in two. One way led into Petalberg forest that leads to Rustboro and the other to Petalberg City. Steven told them that he would go and meet up with dad and sort out a few things elsewhere before heading to Petalberg to meet up with them again so they could head to the island ready to meet up with all the others again for the meeting. May and Max had said that was fine as it would give them a few hours to speak with their parents before they have to leave again.

May knows that this is going to be the hardest adventure that they've ever been on before and that this time the stakes are higher then ever, but she wants to help Ash in anyway she can because that's what friends do.

May and Max reached the front of the gym and Max pushed the door open motioning for his sister to go through first before stepping in after her, the door banging softly closed. "Mum, Dad where are you?" May said waiting for an answer and she got one, but not the one she had expected. An unmistakable sound rocked through the gym from the battle room May's dad is battling a challenger. May and Max rushed into the battle room arriving just in time to see their dad end the battle by ordering his Vigoroth to use flamethrower on the challengers Sceptile knocking it out and ending the battle.

"Sceptile is unable to battle, so the win goes to Norman the gym leader", May heard her mum called out as her dad recalled his Vigoroth moving to meet the challenger shaking their hand. May could see her dad was saying something to the challenger, but she couldn't hear what it was, but she guessed it was some advice on how to get stronger for their rematch. The challenger turned moving over to the door where May and Max were stood moving past them.

"May, Max you're back", Norman said and they both nodded at him. "Did you get the cure for Misty?" Norman added.

"Yeah we did and Misty's doing fine now. Dad me and Max need to talk to you and mum about something really important", May answered and both her parents nodded at her.

"That's fine, we'll close the gym for a few hours and then we can talk", Norman answered.

"Um shall I come back later then?" a voice asked from the doorway and they all turned spotting a tall red headed trainer stood looking at them.

"No you've come for a battle and you'll get one, Caroline go and place a sign on the door and if Max doesn't mind he can stand in as the referee in this battle", Norman answered turning to look at each person as he said the bit that involved them. All three of them nodded and Max moved to take his place by the side of the battlefield as their dad and the challenger took their places at either side of the gym battlefield.

May moved over to sit on one of the benches by the side of the battlefield as her dad explained the rules of the gym, "Okay welcome to the Petalberg Gym, this battle will be a three on three battle, only you the challenger may swap your pokemon during battle and the battle ends once one of us doesn't have any more pokemon left, let's the battle begin, come forth Slaking."

Slaking appeared on the field in front of her dad and she watched as the challenger chucked a ball into the air releasing his first pokemon Heracross before ordering it's first attack, "Heracross let's show him how strong we are, use bulk up and then hit him with brick break."

Slaking don't give him time to use bulk up, use focus punch", Norman counter and his Slaking moved across the battlefield charging it's focus punch before smashing it into Heracross ending the bulk up and knocking it off it's feet. "Slaking keep going, show him your brick break", Norman continued and May could see the challenger was smiling and she found out why a few seconds later.

"Heracross use counter", Slaking's attack hit, but Heracross quickly rose like it was nothing hitting Slaking back sending it skidding back across the field clearly hurt. "Heracross now end this with megahorn", the challenger continued and May watched as Heracross flew across the field smashing his charged megahorn attack into Slaking knocking it out.

"Slaking is unable to battle", Max called as Norman called it back sending out Slakoth instead. May turned watching as her mum sat down next to her.

"How's the battle going?" Caroline asked.

"Dad's just lost Slaking, so it's 3 vs. 2 to the challenger mum", May answered.

"I'm sure your dad will soon change that", Caroline answered and May nodded at her mum.

"I'm sure you're right mum", May replied, but it soon became apparent that she wasn't the challenger went from strength to strength as the battle went on knocking out Slakoth with one attack before managing to damage Vigoroth massively before Vigoroth knocked it out with a flamethrower. The challenger won the battle with his second pokemon knocking out a tired Vigoroth with a powerful water pulse from his Swampert so Max soon called the end of the battle and Norman handed over a badge watching as the challenger left the gym leaving May and her family alone.

"Let's go sit at the table in the other room and we can discuss what you need to tell us", Caroline suggested and everyone nodded at her following her out the battlefield and into another room taking a seat round the table. "So May what did you want to talk to us about?"

"Mum i just want to say first that i really love you both and that you're the best parents ever and i'm sorry i don't tell you how important you are to me more", May answered and she could see her parents were a bit taken back by her out of the blue display of love.

"We know how much both of you and Max love us May, but thanks. May what's going on? I'm guessing it's something that's got you thinking about what's important", Norman answered.

"Dad it's just Misty and everything it's made me think about what's important to me and that's my family. We managed to get the cure for Misty, but it was close there were a few moments where we really thought we were going to lose her and it was the look on Ash's face when his mum called when we were still in the Miracle islands to say Misty was taking a serious turn for the worst, he looked like someone was stamping on his chest", May replied and her parents nodded at her.

"Love can do that to you, it's a great feeling when you're happy, but when you think you're going to lose it i will admit it does feel like someone is stamping on your chest and the world is crashing down around you. I nearly lost your mum once, i won't go into details because it's too hard for both of us to talk about, but it was the worst day of my life. So May what's going on?"

"Dad and Mum me and Max are going to have to leave again soon", May answered.

"Why? Where are you going?" Caroline answered looking between Max and May.

"Dad, Mum i know this is going to sound dangerous and maybe it is, but we've got to go and help Ash as we promised we would. Ash has found about a threat that is about to show up soon and he's started to uncover a way to defeat the threat that's going to appear and he needs help from not just me and Max, but all of our friends and anyone we've met on our journeys that are willing to help", May replied to the first part of her mum's question.

"May you say a threat is coming, what is it?" Norman asked.

"Dad we don't know all the details on the threat. Ash, Misty and Brock are in another region right at this moment meeting with a professor who we believe can explain what is coming and how we can stop the threat. We believe that they're called the immortals and there are five of them and that one of them may be called Hydris. Ash has been told that they are worse than anything that the world has faced in the last two thousand years, i know it sounds dangerous, but we have to go", Max replied answering his dad's question instead of his sister.

"Max you're right it does sound dangerous and let's say we agree to let you go and help Ash, where will you be going?" Norman answered asking the second part of Caroline's earlier question again.

"I'm not really sure where we are going, but to start of we're going to meet up with Ash and the others on an island that the champions own. After we've met up with them we're going to discuss what the next steps and destinations are, i don't know where we'll be going next, but i promise that once i know where we are going we'll call you and mum dad", Max answered and he could see his parents were fighting their parental urges to just say no and make them stay with them.

"May i'm not saying that we're allowing you to go, but will you promise to look after your brother?" Norman asked and May nodded.

"Course i will dad, but i won't be the only one. Steven is coming to meet up with us later once he's finished talking to his dad so he'll be there to look out for both of us. Once we join up with the others again i know that i can and you can trust every single one of them to look out for not just Max, but me as well", May answered and her parents nodded at her.

"Okay well i think me and you dad need to talk about it a bit more before we make a decision, but i'm sure that we all already know the answer. We've always said we wanted you to chose your own path and over the last few years you've both achieved so much and seen so much so i know that if you say you need to do this then me and your dad can't stand in your way", Caroline answered and both May and Max smiled at her.

"Thanks mum", Max replied and Caroline nodded at her son.

"How long before you have to leave again?" Norman asked.

"Not for another few hours i would say, Steven is meeting us here once he's ready to leave as well", May answered.

"Good then we can spend some time together then, who knows when we'll see each other again, Caroline let's get some lunch for us all and then we can have a nice family chat about what we've all seen and done since we last saw each other", Norman answered and everyone nodded at him. Norman and Caroline got up moving off out of the room leaving May and Max alone together.

"Well that went well, i really didn't think mum and dad were going to let us go May", Max admitted and May gave a small nod.

"Me either, but i don't think they're really happy about us going actually they just agreed because they know that if they stopped us going we just go anyway and slightly resent them for not giving us their blessing. It's better to agree to let us go and have a happy farewell, because Max this isn't like anything we've faced before. We don't know what's going to happen and i don't know if maybe i'm just being silly, but i just feel like maybe not everyone will make it back from this journey we're going to lose someone", May replied.

"Yeah i guess May, we already know the immortals are worse than anything the world has seen in two thousand years and we've seen some terrible things and only just escaped them by luck so maybe you're right, but as long as we do our best and keep an eye on everyone maybe your fears won't come to pass May, let's not talk about it anymore it'll just upset everyone", Max answered and May nodded at her younger brother as their parents walked back in carrying plates of food for each of them.


	4. Base Tour

"Mr Ketchum we're approaching the island, if you and your friends could please belt up we'll be starting our descent very soon", the pilot shouted from the front of the plane. Ash nodded sliding the pages of translation back into his backpack by his feet as he pulled his belt across his gut pushing it into the other side of the seat watching as all his friends plus Alan and his friends belted up as well. Ash moved closer to the window looking out spotting the island getting closer.

Misty slid her hand into Ash's and he turned smiling at her as he felt the plane start to slowly descend out of the sky closer to the sea. "You alright?" Ash asked and Misty nodded.

"Yeah I just want to hold your hand Ash", Misty replied and Ash nodded sliding his thumb across the top of her hand.

Ash snuck another look out the window watching as they reached the edge of the island and the plane continued to descend until the wheels of the plane hit the tarmac of the small runway that had been built on the island. The wheels bounced off the runway, but they landed again and Ash felt the pilots put the breaks on harder as the plane slowed down. The plane came to a complete stop and the pilot shouted back again, "Alright we've landed, give us a few more minutes just to turn everything off and then we'll get you all off the plane. I've just got a message across the communication system to say that everyone is waiting for you all in the base under the island and that Cynthia is coming to meet you to show you the way."

"Okay thanks", Ash shouted back unbelting himself watching as everyone else did the same. Pikachu jumped off the seat next to Brock across the plane landing on Misty's who gave him a small stroke before Pikachu jumped off her as well landing on Ash who gave him a stroke as well. "Alright buddy?"

"Pika, Pika", Pikachu replied and Ash smiled understanding actually what his partner had just said about being happy to be able to get off the plane soon and get some proper fresh air.

Ash looked to the front of the plane a few minutes later watching as the pilot stepped out of the cockpit moving to the plane door releasing the lock on it opening it. Ash spotted a set of stairs being placed by the plane and he heard the sound of someone moving up them and Cynthia appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, "Hi guys, let's get you all off this plane i'm sure you've sat down for long enough and would like some fresh air and to stretch your legs", Cynthia said smiling at everyone.

Everyone nodded at her getting up from their seats; Ash went first moving to the door following Cynthia down the steps and onto the runway, "Cynthia how many people have come to the meeting?"

"Quite a lot Ash, we've got representatives from the police force, the aura guardians, the pokemon rangers, the elite four from each region are here as well and then we've got a nurse Joy form each region plus a officer Jenny from each region who will convey the message to the rest of them so they know what's happening and so they can help us in anyway they can", Cynthia answered and Ash nodded at her as they stepped off the runway and into the small airport where two young ladies were waiting for them. "Professor these two young ladies are going to take you and your family to your accommodation and show your wife and daughter around the facilities and then we'll send someone to come and get you once we're ready to start the meeting. We just need to discuss a few things with Ash first", Cynthia said and Alan nodded at her.

"Sure that's fine, my daughter will be joining me in the meeting anyway we've put together a programme that will help explain everything we know about the immortals", Alan answered and Cynthia nodded.

"That's fine, we'll see you both soon then", Cynthia replied and Alan nodded at her before he moved off with his family after the two ladies.

Ash watched them till the door closed after them moving his gaze back to Cynthia, "So how do we reach the base then?"

"Follow me", Cynthia replied moving round the checkout desk to a door that was hidden from view from their previous position. Cynthia pressed her thumb to a scanner fixed to the wall next to the door before pressing in a four digit code quickly. Ash heard the door click before it slid back into the wall, Cynthia moved through the door and Ash's trio followed her and Ash realised that it was a lift. Cynthia pressed the bottom floor button and the door slide back out the door as the lift started to move down.

"What's with the scanner and code?" Ash asked.

"Security you can never be careful, that lift only works if the code and thumb print match one of the ones on the system, if it doesn't a silent alarm is flipped down in the base and the door locks until someone unlocks it down in the base" Cynthia answered as the lift reached the bottom floor, Cynthia moved out the lift and Ash's trio quickly followed her.

"Where's May, Max and the others?" Brock asked.

"Oh they're all in the accommodation section of the base right now. Why don't I give you the tour and we can chat as well, we can meet up with the others on the way", Cynthia answered and Ash's trio nodded at her.

"Sounds good, what's first?" Ash replied.

"Well actually our first stop is your room/office Ash", Cynthia answered, "The final touches were finished only this morning so that it's ready for you to use tonight, we think the meeting is going to take quite a while and you won't be leaving again till tomorrow. Misty we weren't sure if you would like to stay with him so we moved a double bed into there. If you don't want to stay with Ash there's a spare bed in May and Dawn's room."

"Um if it's okay with Ash I would like to stay with him, I want to spend as much time as I can with him", Misty answered.

"I love you to stay in my room Mist", Ash answered and Misty smiled lightly kissing Ash on the lips.

"Brock we've put you in a room with Max just down the corridor from Ash and Misty which is also between May and Dawn's room and Cilan and Clemont's room and then in the next room to them are Iris, Serena and Bonnie", Cynthia quickly continued obviously reading their minds as Ash was about to ask about Brock and the others and looking at Brock now Ash can see Brock about to ask as well. Cynthia moved off and Ash's trio moved off after her catching up with her as she turned a corner moving down a corridor moving past two doors on the left side of the corridor and a door on the right.

"What's in there?" Misty asked pointing to the two doors on the left.

"Oh that's Steven's and Alder's rooms, but they aren't in there at the moment as they're both working in the communication room", Cynthia answered pointing back to the door they had passed on the right, "Well go in there later, there is a another door on the other side of the base that we'll use instead let's keep going", Cynthia continued as they turned another corner into a new corridor stopping at the first door on the left. "And this is your's and Misty's room let's have a quick look shall we?" Cynthia asked and Ash nodded watching as she pushed open the door stepping in holding the door letting all three of them walk in before letting the door close behind them.

"Wow this place is amazing", Misty commented and Ash couldn't help, but nod in agreement as he took in every part of the room smiling at each thing not believing all the things that they've supplied him with, a TV, a radio, a bookcase of books on different subject plus so much more. Ash moved over to the TV turning it on flicking through a few channels, "Wow there's loads of channels" Ash said and Cynthia nodded.

"Yeah you've got pretty much all the channels from all the regions it helps keep up with what's going on in all of them", Cynthia answered as Ash moved away from the TV moving over to the desk taking a seat at it opening the laptop that was sat on it watching as it loaded up.

"Ash i'm sure you can look at everything on there later, let's have a quick look at the bedroom and then we can keep the tour going and meet up with the other", Misty said placing her hand on Ash's shoulder pointing to the door on the left wall. Ash nodded getting up out of the seat moving with Misty to the door opening it stepping through looking at the room, it's not as amazing as the other room, but it's still great and they'll only be using it probably for one night.

"It's nice, lets leave our bags here and go meet up with the others", Ash replied and Misty nodded placing her bag down on the bed next to Ash's taking Ash hand leading him back in the office and over to the door stepping back into the corridor with Brock and Cynthia.

Cynthia started moving straight away and she stopped only a few steps down the hallway pointing to the room on her left, "And this is the infirmary, let's hope there's no need to use it, but we've got a three nurse Joys and a few doctors waiting up on the island if there services are needed."

"This base really does have everything doesn't it", Ash commented.

"Well we like to be prepared for any situation. Right lets keep the tour going the next room is just down the hallway and it's the relaxation/lounge area", Cynthia said moving down the hallway pointing to a door to their left, "Do you want to have a quick look or shall we keep going?" Cynthia added.

"Keep going we'll have a look later, let's join up with the others", Ash answered and Cynthia nodded continuing down the hallway.

"And this is the kitchen and food hall, they're cooking right now so we can have something to eat before the meeting start. Right and now this is the start of accommodation section of the base it cover about a quarter of the base, your friends are in these four rooms here", Cynthia explained pointing to the three rooms in front of them.

Ash nodded at her as he knocked on the door stepping in smiling at Dawn and May sat on the bed inside, "Hi."

"Ash you're here, how did it go? Did you find out anything?" May asked as Misty, Brock and Cynthia moved into the room as well.

"It went great we found out quite a bit actually, I won't explain it right now, but you'll find out everything later. How did you visit back to your regions go?" Ash answered.

"You know not bad, I quickly visited my mum to explain what's going on and she gave me her blessing to continue this journey, but she wants me to keep in contact with her. Me and Cynthia visited a few places to talk to people and we've made some great progress they're all waiting in rooms around the accommodation area for the meeting", Dawn answered and Ash nodded.

"Well I and Max went home and our parents were very split about letting us leave, but they knew we had to go so they let us go. When Steven got back to Petalberg City he explained a bit more to our parents including that like the other champions he had spoken to all the gym leaders about the threat and the little that we know so far", May answered.

"Who spoke to the Kanto and Johto gym leaders do you know?" Ash asked.

"Well the champions called Lance and explained everything to him and he agreed to contact all the gyms and explain it to them. I know what you're thinking Ash, but going to meet the professor was more important in the long run. Right back to what happened in Hoenn, Steven asked my dad to be the representative for the Hoenn region's gym leaders. They're going to screen him into the meeting with chosen gym leaders from the other regions plus anyone who we couldn't get to the island in time", May answered.

"Right okay that's a great idea, is Max next door?" Brock replied.

"No I think he's actually at the battle ground with Cilan and all the others, he wanted to get that battle in that you mentioned to him and Cilan back in Pallet town and i think then him and Clemont are going to have a battle afterwards. Lets go and join them shall we?" May replied and everyone nodded at her.

"There's a few rooms i can show you before we head there if we take the longer route to it, but i'll show you the shortcut as well if that's okay with everyone", Cynthia said and Ash nodded at her.

"Yeah sounds good, then once they've finished their battle we can join the other in the communication room", Ash replied as Cynthia moved back towards the door give him a small nod to confirm she agreed that it sound like a good idea.

Cynthia moved off down the hallway a bit further passing a few more accommodation rooms before she turned off heading down a new hallway with everyone behind her. The hallway had a lot of turn off on their left which they ignored as Cynthia explained that they lead to more sections of the accommodation part of the base. Cynthia stopped in the middle of the hallway and pointed up it, "This leads to one of the door to the battle area" Cynthia waited for them to nod before continuing on reaching another corner which they moved around stopped at a door that was placed a few steps past it.

Cynthia opened the door stepping in and Ash moved in after her amazed by what he saw on the right side of the room, it was a huge glass window covering most of the wall from floor to ceiling, the only part of the wall not part of the glass window is the small door sat on the far left of the wall. Ash can see a large grassy plain through the glass window with a few trees in the far distance with what he believes is a Beautifly flying near to them when he looks left. "This side of the base was hollowed out a lot more than the rest of it and we decided to use it for one special objective, a pokemon habitat to rival even the one professor Oak has back in Pallet. It covers the whole side of this base and we believe it could house about five hundred pokemon easily, right now Ash all my pokemon plus the other champions and your friends pokemon are inside the enjoying themselves, why don't you, Brock and Misty let your pokemon join them", Ash nodded moving over to the door opening it pressing all five of his pokeballs on his belt watching as they appeared before him quickly joined by Pikachu who had jumped off his shoulder.

"Guys go and join the others, Lucario i'll be back for you and Pikachu later when the meeting is starting", Ash said looking towards Lucario who nodded as Misty's and Brock pokemon joined Ash's moving off across the plain probably looking for the other pokemon. "Cynthia how high does the habitat go?" Ash asked looking through the door towards the roof.

"Because it's inside there is a roof, but it's tall enough that any flying pokemon have enough room to soar and spread their wings like they would in the wild or while travelling with their trainers, right close the door Ash and we'll continue the tour we've got the battlefield, the conference room, the communication room and then finally mine and Diantha room's so we're nearly finished, let's start with the battle field it's just up the corridor", Cynthia said and Ash obeyed closing the door following everyone out the room and down the corridor following them through a room on the right that lead to the side of the battlefield.

"Grovyle don't give up, use leaf blade on Stunfisk", Max cried as his Grovyle jumped up off the floor running across the battlefield.

"Stunfisk use Sludge Bomb to stop him", Cilan countered.

Max must have been expecting it, Cilan must have used it before when Max told Grovyle to use leaf blade, "Grovyle jump into the air to avoid it and show them the strength your leaf blade", Max ordered and Grovyle jumped into the air dodging the attack slamming its leaf blade down onto Stunfisk before jumping back. Ash looked at Stunfisk as the dust settled realising that it was knocked out. Ash's gaze shot to Clemont who was refereeing the match as he to realised that Stunfisk was out cold.

"Stunfisk is unable to battle and since Cilan's three pokemon are now all unable to battle the win goes to Max", Clemont called and Ash started to clap as he stepped onto the battlefield with the others behind him.

"Ash you're here", Max, Clemont and Cilan all said together.

"Max well done, Cilan i didn't see the whole thing, but i'm sure you battle excellently as well", Ash said wanting to congratulate both of his friends.

"Thanks", both Max and Cilan answered together.

"So was your journey fruitful?" Max asked and Ash nodded at him.

"It was and you'll find out more later in the meeting. We learnt a lot and i think it'll be easier just to let the professor explain himself", Ash answered.

"Yeah that's fine, you guys sticking around i'm about to battle Clemont next", Max asked as Iris, Serena and Bonnie joined them from the other side of the battlefield where they had been sat watching the battle.

"Me and Dawn will", May replied and Dawn nodded to confirm she agreed with May.

"Ash what about you?" Clemont asked.

"No sorry, we've still got a few more places to visit first, but we'll come back later if you guys are still here i promise", Ash replied and everyone nodded at him.

"Right let's keep going then Ash", Cynthia said starting to move back to the door that they entered through. Ash's trio hurried after her turning back at the door to watch all their friends take their places around the battlefield as Max released his Magby and Clemont released his Luxray.

Cynthia lead them further down the corridor and they reached another door which she stopped at, "This is the conference room, there's another door on the opposite side of the base opposite the door the kitchen/dining area that i forgot to point out, but it's easy enough to find on your own, we won't go in right now as they're setting everything up, as May explained earlier we're streaming in anyone that couldn't make it so they're setting up the screens and camera's so that everyone can be seen by everyone who's there in person and being streamed in, if anyone being streamed has anything to say we've set up a main screen which we'll move them to, we'll use that for the professor's presentation as well. Right let's continue on shall we", Cynthia said and Ash's trio nodded at her following down the corridor and Ash couldn't help, but look at the left side of the corridor and the many little windows that seemed to show more parts of the pokemon area, they seem to run from the office that they went into till the other end of the corridor.

"Cynthia there you are, Alder and Steven need you and Ash in the communication area", Diantha said rushing down the corridor towards them.

"Why what's up?" Ash asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds important let's go", Diantha replied and everyone moved after her following her through a door about two hundred metres up the corridor from where they were. Ash looked around the room spotting about thirty people working at computer with a variety of things running on the screens.

Steven and Alder turned to face them as they entered and it was Steven who addressed them, "Right we're all here, we've got word from Elsa and our other representatives in Nimbassa City that there's been some weird activity in Lostlorn forest which includes a large group of men moving around it, they seem to be searching for something. It might be nothing, but i'm sure you will agree it does sound suspicious."

Ash looked at Misty and Brock and their faces mirrored his massive concern. This isn't nothing and Ash is sure it's not a coincidence that there's men in the forest where one of the immortals is buried after finding out that there's people looking for them. "Steven I think we've got a problem and we need to get as many people there as possible to stop them."

"Ash what's going on?" Alder asked.

"One of the Immortals resting places is located in Lostlorn Forest. Tempest the Immortal of wind is located in the forest behind a waterfall we need to stop them from find the entrance and then as soon as the meeting is over we need to send as many people there as possible to defend the forest while I find the rest of the stones and staff pieces", Ash answered and all the other champions nodded at him.

"You learnt this from the professor i'm guessing", Diantha said and Ash nodded. "Okay you heard Ash get as many people to the forest as possible and i'm sure you'll agree we haven't got time to waste the meeting needs to be brought forward", Diantha continued before stopping turning to face all the people at the computers, "We need to contact everyone we're supposed to be streaming in and tell them the meeting is happen as soon as everyone is ready" all the people at the computer nodded at her stopping what they were doing focusing on contacting everyone they needed to.

"Right now we need to get everyone into the conference room, Ash you get you friends and Lucario into the room and me and the other champions will deal with everyone else", Steven said and Ash gave him a small nod before rushing out the room with Misty and Brock a few steps behind him their footsteps echoing through the base.

"Ash why don't you get Lucario and Pikachu and we'll get the others and we'll meet you there it'll be quicker", Brock suggested.

"Yeah good idea", Ash replied and they separated as they passed the door for the battlefield, Misty and Brock entering as Ash continued down the hallway back towards the pokemon habitat area.


	5. A Meeting Completed

Misty looked around the table at the people who had already arrived at the conference room before turning to look at Ash and their other friends. Ash arrived a few minutes earlier and took the seat at the end of the table so that if it comes for him to say his piece, both he and Lucario who is stood behind Ash's chair wouldn't have to walk down the whole room. Because they've had to bring the meeting forward due to the events at Lostlorn Forest, the technicians are still trying to put the final touches to the screens. So far only one of the screens is occupied and that is by Professor Oak who it seems Ash called on his way to the conference room. Misty watched as two more screens flickered to life and Professor Birch and Elm appeared on the ones next to Oak's screen.

Misty heard the door open across the room and she turned to face it watching as three people moved into the room, two men and a woman, one of the men and the woman looked a lot older than the other guy. The younger of the two men looked only a few years older than Ash and Misty, if Misty met him before she started to fall for Ash she might of thought he was hot now she just thinks he not bad looking, but nothing compared to Ash in her eyes. He's got a nice build, he's a bit taller than Ash and maybe a little bit more muscled and has frizzy burgundy hair that seems to be sticking up at all angles.

Misty watched as they scanned the room their gaze stopping on Ash's chair beside her, they started to move towards them with the youngest guy standing behind the other two. Misty turned to look at Ash who seemed to be deep in conversation with Lucario, but he to must of noticed that they were here because he turned looking at them as well a small smile creping onto his face. Ash pushed his chair back as Lucario took a step back as well moving round the table to meet them, "Master Atticus, Master Arya it's good to see you again", Ash said and Misty saw Ash give them a small smile.

"Same to you Ash, it's only been less then two weeks since we saw each other, but a lot seems to have changed since then", the man who Misty assumes is Master Atticus replied.

"Indeed, are the other three master here today?"

"No they've stayed back at the temple to keep up the students training, we're going to report everything back to them on our return", Master Arya replied her gaze moving past Ash and stopping on Misty, "And Ash can I assume that your journey was successful and that this young lady here is your girlfriend", Master Arya continued.

"Yep this is Misty, Misty i would like you to meet Master Atticus and Master Arya i met them on the journey for your cure, you remember me mentioning them don't you?", Ash said and Misty nodded rising from her chair moving round to stand next to Ash.

"It's nice to meet you both", Misty said as she slipped her hand into Ash's.

"Same Misty, Ash spoke very highly of you at the temple and he fought very hard in our battle so he could gain the aura seed for your cure", Master Atticus replied and Misty snuggled closer to Ash. "And Ash i'm sure you remember the third part of our party, Davis", Master Atticus continued stepping aside slightly letting Davis move in between him and Master Arya.

"Davis how are you?" Ash said clearly happy to see him again.

"Good thanks Ash, you'll never guess what Ash, i took the test two days ago", Davis replied.

"And how did you do?", Ash quickly asked.

"I'm now a fully fledged aura guardian Ash, I passed the final test", Davis answered.

"That's great so you're heading back to Sinnoh then", Ash replied and Davis nodded.

"Yeah that's why I'm here, the masters and Cynthia came to an agreement that they would come and tell everyone what they know and then asked if Cynthia would take me back to Sinnoh with her on her next visit and she agreed so here i am", Davis replied and Ash nodded. Davis looked past Ash at all their friends and Misty turned as well looking at her and Ash's friends they're all talking to each and don't seem to have noticed Davis and the masters just yet, "So I see Max, Brock, May and Dawn are here as well, but no Tracey", Davis continued.

"No Tracey's back in Pallet town with Professor Oak he might appear on the screen with him later", Ash replied and Davis nodded, "Davis come and have a quick chat with Max, Brock, May and Dawn and i can introduce you to my friends from Unova and Kalos as well", Ash continued and Davis nodded in agreement.

"Davis come sit wit us once you're finished we're going to take our seats", Master Atticus said and Davis nodded as both Masters moved off round the table. Ash and Misty moved off together still holding hands with Davis just behind them, Max turned away from Brock how he been chatting with looking at Ash, Misty and Davis approaching them.

"Davis I didn't expect to see you here today, how are you?", Max asked getting up from his seat.

"Not bad Max, you? I hope you've not had any more accidents since we last saw each other", Davis replied.

"No I haven't fallen into any more rivers or fallen off anymore bridges, in general I pretty good actually Davis", Max answered and Davis nodded.

"That's great, so how is everyone else?" Davis replied turning to face May, Brock and Dawn.

"We're great as well thanks Davis", all three of them answered together and Davis gave them each a small nod.

"Right everyone who didn't come to the Miracle Islands this is Davis and we met him while travelling through the islands, he helped me save Max when a bridge he was on collapsed under him and he fell into the river below. After i got him out of the water his Lucario saved me from falling over a waterfall and then he helped get Max to a pokemon center while I returned to the others to tell them what had happened", Ash said taking control of the conversation.

"It's nice to meet you Davis", all of Ash's friends from Unova and Kalos said together.

"Davis i would like to introduce you to the rest of my travelling companions over the years, first this is Cilan", Ash said motioning to Cilan who got up from his chair shaking Davis's hand, "And this is Iris", Ash continued motioning to Iris who gave him a large smile. "And these three are my friends from the Kalos region, this is Serena, Clemont and his little sister Bonnie", Ash finished and all three of them gave him a small smile as well.

"It's nice to meet you all, right well I better go and join the Master, maybe we'll have a chance to talk again soon", Davis said and everyone nodded at him as he moved off round the table to where the Masters were sat.

"Misty let's sit back down everyone is nearly all here and the screens are nearly all online it shouldn't be to much longer till we get going", Ash said and Misty nodded at him moving with him back to their seats sitting down still holding hands.

It took another twenty minutes after Ash and Misty sat back in their seats, but finally the meeting began. All the seat were occupied and the screens set up were all full with people from all the different regions. Cynthia moved to the front of the room in front of the main screen and started the meeting, "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to take part in this meeting. The subject of this meeting is an important one, a threat to the world is about to appear and now we must do whatever we can to stop it from destroying everything that we hold dear. Many of us around the world have started to feel and see things that are indicators of what is coming. To start of with we'll listen to what the aura guardians have been experiencing and to explain it all please welcome Master Atticus and Arya who have travelled from the Aura Island in the Miracle Islands to be with us."

Both Masters got up from their chairs and moved to the front of the room giving everyone a small smile before Master Arya started, "The aura guardians have always been in close connection to the world and can sense issues that are happening in the world before others can having visions and feelings that always seem to come to pass. This time the first signs started to appear a few months ago, the masters started to feel a presence, it could actually be presences somewhere around the world, we can't pin point it at the moment. Since we've felt the presence we've also been having visions of the world covered in ruins. In the last few days they've got worse and we've started to see shadows of creatures destroying towns and cities destroying buildings with a single attack. The screams of the victims still linger with me now while I'm awake, Master Atticus do you have anymore to add?"

"I do thank you Master Arya, I've been having mostly the same visions as you, but i have had one that it seems you haven't and Ash it involves you. Ash I've seen you standing on a great plain of grass, your Lucario is stood beside on one side and on the other side i see a dragon with scales of every colour. Surrounding you in a circle is five creatures of different shapes and sizes and they start to attack, but you fight back and that's when i wake up so I don't know how it ends" Master Atticus answered and Misty looked at Ash and could see a slight hint of fear appear in his eyes, but it disappeared just as fast.

"Master Atticus if that comes to pass, then I'll fight them and win don't you worry", Ash answered and Master Atticus nodded at him.

"Well thank you Master Atticus and Master Arya for divulging that great information, I'm sure you'll all agree it was most enlightening. Before we move onto the one person who i think can truly explain what all these things mean I'll explain what me and the other champions have seen and then Ash will explain what he knows which answers the questions we champions had concerning our findings", Cynthia said and Misty watched Ash nod at her. "Right so me and the other champions have been looking into strange weather patterns and goings on in our separate regions such as pokemon attacking towns and rampaging everywhere and in certain places we started to feel a strange presence like the two Master mentioned. We weren't any closer to find any answer till we found about Ash's findings and so I'll now hand over to Ash to continue the next part of the explanation", Cynthia continued.

Ash rose from the table moving round the last part of the table with Lucario taking over from Cynthia who returned to her seat, "So all these weird goings on are all connected to one group and they are called the immortals. All the information I'm about to tell you comes from my friend Lucario", Ash started motioning to Lucario before continuing, "So just quickly i need to give you Lucario's history he died a few years ago saving the Tree Of Beginnings in Kanto, but he was reborn to pass on a message to me and help me fight what is coming. Okay so back to what Lucario told me, he mentioned about a force unlike anything the world has seen in two thousand years appearing and it just happens that two thousand years ago was the last time the immortals appeared so the pieces are slowly falling into place and it is their growing presence that is causing all the things that the Masters, the champions and Lucario have seen. There's not much more i can say until you know more about the immortals. So to explain more about what is coming I'll hand over to a man who is an expert on the subject Professor Alan Jackson who has flown all the way from the Grandis region with his daughter and his wife to be with us today, so without further ado please listen to all he has to say", Ash moved to his seat taking Misty's hand in his giving her a small smile.

"Hello everyone I'm Alan and this is my daughter Lana, we've put together a small presentation to explain the main points of what i'm going to tell you. There is a lot of information that i could tell you about the immortals, but I think right now i should just stick to the main facts that will help you understand enough about the immortals to battle them if the need arises. I'll take questions if anyone has any afterwards", Alan explained and Misty watched everyone nod at him as Lana worked on the laptop they had brought connecting it up to the main screen before pressing play and a caption reading the Immortals appeared on the screen. "Okay so let's begin with what are the immortals, the immortals are a group of creatures closely related to pokemon, what I'm about to tell you might change the way you look at the world from now on. Legends and myths say that Arceus created the world and that is sort of true and sort of not. Before Arceus there were the immortals and a war long forgotten through time. One side had Lucida, the very first humans and the very first pokemon against the remaining immortals who had gone to war due to a wrong that had supposedly been committed against the immortals", Alan continued.

Alan continued to explain everything he had explained to Ash, Misty and Brock back at the university to everyone else in the room, Lana's presentation pinpointed the important bits adding them to the screen every time her dad mentioned it in his speech. Alan talked for close to an hour before he finally stopped and asked if there was any questions.

Steven was the first one to ask a question, "These Immortals if they awake before all the keystones and staff pieces are found, can we hold them off for as long as it takes to get the rest of the stones and staff pieces?"

"Um well they are rumoured to be extremely powerful, but i guess that maybe we could hold them off if we had lots of pokemon battling them, but i would say it'll take close to fifty pokemon to just one immortal and even then it might not be enough. Our best hope is for us to either stop the immortals from waking completely, but it might already be to late for that option or for Ash to find the staff pieces and keystones and wake Lucida and battle them before they do to much damage", Alan replied.

"You say it has to be Ash, why?", Alder asked.

"There was writing on the final wall of the temple Ash visited in the Miracle Islands which he sent to me and i translated it reads as follows, the final room shall only show itself to Lucida's chosen champion when the time for her to rise again arrives, they must be a hero of the pokemon and a have a pure heart. The door opened to Ash in that temple and that is enough evidence to confirm in my eyes he is her chosen champions. I found more writing from another source that continues that extract and expands on it, it continues that only when he is alone shall the door open and allow him to claim the treasure within", Alan answered.

"That sounds like a load of rubbish", a guy commented from down the table.

"It's not, can I ask who you are?" Ash asked and Misty could see he was trying to keep his annoyance at the guy's comment out of his voice.

"My name is Jonah and I'm the head of a protection agency that has bases all over the regions, Cynthia invited me here because she said that my services may be needed", Jonah answered and Ash looked at Cynthia for confirmation.

"It's true I did suggest we may need his assistance, i was thinking that the gyms might need some extra security, just encase the men we believe are after the immortals turn their attention to the gyms" Cynthia answered.

"That's actually a great idea Cynthia, right back to your comment Jonah. While I was in the temple I heard Lucida and she told me that the door would only open to me when I was alone. Professor Oak could you get Tracey for me please, I need him to confirm something for me", Ash said while getting up from the table moving to the front of the room to stand next to Alan aiming the second part at Professor Oak's screen watching him nod turning calling Tracey's name. It took close to a minute, but Tracey appeared on the screen and their feed was moved to the main screen by the technicians without anyone saying anything to them.

"Hi, Ash Professor Oak said you needed to ask me something?"

"Now Max and Tracey I need to both answer this questions and confirm that what I'm saying is true and that we've not discussed you backing me up beforehand. You both were with me in that temple and you both stood in the room that lead to the final room, there wasn't anything in there or any sign of a secret room was there?"

"No it was empty and didn't give any sign that there was more to be found, it looked like every other room we had walked through", Max and Tracey answered together.

"Thank you, once they had gone i did as Lucida asked and the door opened to me and inside was the keystone and staff piece", Ash continued looking at the guy who had commented about it being a load of rubbish.

"I'm still not one hundred percent convinced, but I guess if four of you are saying it's true i have to take it as the truth, sorry for calling it rubbish", Jonah replied.

"No worries I know it's a lot to take in, any other questions?" Alan asked.

"You mentioned the rest of the immortals and you keep mentioning waking Lucida, but you haven't said where she is, do you even know where to find her once we've got the staff pieces and keystones", Master Atticus answered down the table.

"I do, she's located in a temple under the university that sort of the reason the university was built there and why i was employed at the university so we could learn more and i have", Alan answered, "Ash you've seen it, please confirm for everyone she's there."

"She is there, Misty and Brock will back me up", Ash answered and both Misty and Brock nodded in agreement as everyone looked at them.

"Right okay so now we know what is coming what are we going to do?" Master Arya asked.

"Well i guess the main objective is to collect the staff pieces and keystones and then wake up Lucida, but since Ash is the only one who can enter the final room of the temples to collect them that job falls to him. What i suggest is that Ash takes a small group of people with him to travel the different regions visiting all the temples and collecting the items inside. He'll then head to the Grandis region again to unlock Lucida's resting place and join her in the battle against the immortals if they've woken stopping them somehow and then returning them to their stone states which we can then hide somewhere that no one will ever find again", Steven answered and Ash nodded at him to confirm he liked the idea.

"I think the group should be no more than five or six, I've already to three spaces filled with me, Misty and Brock and I also think that Alan should come so that's four."

"And if Ash you don't mind i think the next space should be taken by my daughter who has good knowledge of the writing just encase anything happens to me and is a great battler as well", Alan added and Ash nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good, now do we add anymore to the group or would their talents be better suited doing something else", Ash answered.

"Like what?", Master Arya asked and Misty could see that Ash can an idea for an answer to that question, but he wasn't sure if he should say it or not.

The door to the room opened across form Misty and she watched as one of the workers from the communication room ran in handing Alder a piece of paper. Alder read it before passing it to the other champions who all rose up from the table together moving to stand next to Ash handing him the piece of paper. Misty watched him form a little smile before letting it disappear again. Ash and the other champions started to talk quickly to each other, but Misty couldn't hear most of what was being said. Misty heard a few of Ash's parts including "Yeah that was what i was going to suggest, I need as much time as you can give me" and finally "It's going to be hard, but I trust you all"

"Well Master Arya it seems we have the answer to that question now and i hope you'll all agree to what we're about to suggest. While Ash is away collecting the stones and staff pieces i want to send group of people consisting of the champions, the aura guradians and anyone else who is willing to fight to go to each region to check out the resting places of the immortals. If they are still untouched we'll defend them and try and stop the immortals from ever rising or at least hold them off long enough for Ash to wake Lucida. We've just recived word from Unova that a small group of men who were trying to enter the temple holding Tempest have been defeated and that they've retreated for now, but they'll be back in larger numbers and that is why we want to up the numbers of people defending the temple and i myslef will be going there to join the fight as soon as a plane or boat can take me", Alder answered.

"And you'll have as many aura guardians as we can get to the location as well don't you worry. This threats affects us all and it's an aura guardian's responsibility to defend the people and pokemon of this world", Master Atticus replied.

"Thank you, is there any objection to the plan?" Cynthia asked, but no one spoke up if there was. "Good now i think we can end this meeting, everyone needs to head back to their room and get a god nights sleep we'll be heading off early tomorrow morning again", Cynthia added and slowly people started to get up.

Ash moved back to the table turning to look at Misty and the rest of their friends, "Guys could you all wait until everyone's gone i need to speak to you all quickly alone" Ash asked and everyone nodded at him in agreement. Ash turned to face the champions as well, "Could you four stay as well", Ash added turning to face the champions who were stood a few feet away from them, all four of them nodded at him watching as the rest of the room cleared.

Ash took his seat again and the champions took seats of the opposite side of the table to Ash and the others. "Guys i just want to thank you all for coming to the meeting and for helping the champions while me, Misty and Brock were in the Grandis region, but i've know that asking you to come and help get people to the meeting is a lot different than asking you to join the fight against the Immortals. So now I'm going to say something that has several options and i won't think any different of anyone of you no matter what option you take. Guys I don't want anyone who doesn't feel up to it to put themselves in danger so I'm giving to a choice. If you don't want to join the champions in defending the temples then say now and I'll make sure they get you back home on the way to the temple", Ash said and Misty looked at each of their friends one by one looking for their reaction.

"Ash we made you a promise that we would help you whenever you asked and we will, I'm sure May will agree we're staying and we're going to go with Steven and double check on Hydris's resting place and then whatever happens will keep helping you till the world is safe again", Max answered and Ash gave both him and May a small smile as May nodded in agreement to her brother's answer.

"I'll be glad of your help May and Max", Steven answered and they both smiled at him.

"And I'm going to help as much as i can as well", Dawn added and Ash gave her a small smile as well.

"Count us in too", Iris and Cilan answered together.

"Thank you", Ash replied.

"Ash I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say that me and Bonnie need to go back to the gym, this isn't some simple journey it's a dangerous battle against creature who sound like gods compared to us, i can't and i won't put Bonnie in danger I'm sorry. Ash i want to help you i really do, but I just can't let Bonnie be put right in the middle of a battle and i can't leave her alone I'm sorry", Clemont answered and Ash nodded. Misty can see where Clemont is coming from and she knows that Ash can as well and if she didn't know better this conversation was aimed so that Bonnie and Clemont could leave and be removed from danger if so Ash is really the best friend anyone can ask for.

"Clemont that's fine I don't want Bonnie in danger either and who know being back at the gym might be helpful in the long run as you might hear things from trainers and people around the city that might be helpful to me and the other champions", Ash replied.

"Are you sure Ash?" Clemont asked and Ash nodded.

"Yeah one hundred percent mate your safety is my main concern, Serena what about you?" Ash replied.

"Um I think I'm going to go back home as well sorry Ash", Serena answered and Ash nodded.

"That's fine don't worry, as i said i don't want anyone to put themselves in danger and like Clemont maybe you'll see or hear something while you're back at home that might help me in a different way. Guys look after yourselves and I promise that once I've sorted out the immortals we'll hang out with everyone else like we were meant to back in Kanto", Ash replied.

"Sounds good Ash", Serena answered.

"Okay well I'm actually quite hungry so I think I might go and get something to eat anyone want to join me?" Ash announced and everyone including Misty nodded at him rising from their chair following him out the door towards the kitchen. Misty slid her hand into Ash's and he gave her a small smile leaning over giving her a small kiss as they turned round a corner moving into a new hallway.


	6. Back To The Grandis Region

Ash fired off another attack and Lucario blocked it before firing his own attack back, Ash raised his right arm and his aura shield blocked Lucario's attack. Ash summoned another ball of aura in his hand sending it flying towards Lucario. Ash focused on the ball as it go close to Lucario and it exploded sending tiny blades of aura at Lucario. Lucario jumped into the air and the blades flew under him across the rest of the room and into the wall of the battlefield. "That was very good Ash, you're really coming on with your training Ash. You've mastered a good quantity of aura manipulations and I know that if we keep training you'll have mastered most of them in no time", Lucario said as he landed back on the ground.

"Thanks you're a great teacher Lucario, we should really be getting back to mine and Misty's room soon, I don't want her to worry if she wakes up and I'm not there", Ash replied and Lucario nodded.

Ash hadn't been able to sleep , he had lain in bed next to Misty for half the night before he gave up trying to fall asleep and got out the bed carefully so not to wake Misty and had left the bedroom moving through his office into the main part of the base heading towards the pokemon habitat area calling Lucario before heading to the battlefield together. They've been training for the last five hours and in that time Ash has perfected quite a few more aura manipulations that Lucario thinks will come in helpful if the Immortal wake before Ash has managed to visit all the temples and grab the items he needs to wake Lucida.

"Let's just work on one more move and then we'll head back Lucario", Ash suggested and Lucario nodded at him.

"Right okay the move we'll try next is a stronger version of the grab I taught you back in the Miracle islands, you should be able to get your grab to split so that you can grab multiple enemies and still have the same amount of power as before", Lucario explained and Ash nodded. "Right Ash start like you would for the first grab and then flick it out, but as you do imagine it splitting, let's start with just splitting it in two", Lucario continued and Ash nodded flicking his wrist like he would if he was using the normal grab, it moved towards Lucario and Ash did Lucario said imaging it splitting and he watched as it did start to separate and there was now two hands flying towards Lucario, he dodged the first one, but Ash got him with the second one. Ash could see it was failing so he let the other one fade and focused his attention on the one with Lucario in. Ash let Lucario go a few feet in front of him and Lucario gave him a small smile, "That was good, but we still need to work on it, it's okay if you're still only facing one person, but if there's more than one then I think you'll struggle to keep both captured", Lucario admitted.

"Yeah I guess, maybe it would be better to train this move when I have a second person to catch and then i would have to focus on keeping both of you in the grab at the same time" Ash said and Lucario nodded.

"Yeah lets leave the training for tonight shall we, let's head back to you room", Lucario answered and Ash nodded moving towards the door.

The door opened before Ash could reach it and Misty moved into the room wiping sleep out of her eyes. "Ah there you are Ash, what are you doing in here?" Misty asked.

"Oh I couldn't sleep", Ash replied moving back the way he had come sitting on the bench by the side of the battlefield, Misty slipped down next to him slipping her hand into Ash's.

"Why couldn't you sleep, have you got something on your mind?" Misty asked.

"No I'm fine", Ash replied looking away from Misty focusing on the door where Lucario is stood giving them space.

"Ash I know you're lying, I can see there something wrong. Ash please tell me what's wrong maybe I can help", Misty replied placing her hand softly on Ash's face turning it back to her again. "Ash if you're lying to stop me worrying stop, I'll worry more if you won't tell me what's up" Misty added.

"Misty do you remember what Master Atticus said in the meeting about his vision?", Ash asked and Misty gave a small nod.

"About the immortals standing in a circle around you and Lucario and Lucida are stood beside you."

"Yeah that bit, Misty if that's the future that's going to happen the immortals are going to wake and I will have to battle them, what if I'm not strong enough and I fail. Misty I'm not anything special I'm not this amazing hero that can stop five creatures that are stronger than anything I've faced before. Misty this is crazy only a few weeks ago I was in Kalos getting ready for the league, last week I was in the Miracle islands getting your cure, now I'm getting ready to face the immortals how did this happen? The times I've faced the legendary pokemon and walked away still alive I was lucky and you know my luck has got to run out soon. Misty what if that's now, what if this time and I fail and the world is turned to ruins? Misty I love you and I don't want to lose you and I know I will if I fail, because no one close to me will survive this battle if I don't win", Ash answered letting the fears and tears he been holding back for days spill out.

"Ash we don't know that what Master Atticus said is going to come to pass, it might of just been a really bad nightmare", Misty answered slipping her hand out of Ash's wrapping her arms round Ash pulling him closer letting him rest his head on her shoulder.

"Misty he described Lucida before me or Alan mentioned anything about her, how could he know what she looked like if it was just a bad dream", Ash replied.

"Ash I don't know, I really don't know. Ash if it that is going to happen we can still change a few things you won't be on your own because I'm going to make sure I never leave your side and I'll be there to help you fight them if needs to be you're never alone I hope you know that, if there's anything ever bothering come and speak to me that what girlfriends and friends in general are there for. I know Brock will always listen to any worries you have as well and try and help as much as he can ", Misty answered and Ash lifted his head looking at Misty giving her a small smile closing the gap between them giving her a kiss on the lips before pulling back again.

"Misty you're the most amazing girl I've ever known and I love you so much I hope you know that", Ash said and Misty smiled closing the gap again pressing her lips to Ash's again.

"Ash I love you too, right lets get you back to bed for a few hours we've got to leave in a few hours and you look shattered", Misty replied and Ash nodded getting up off the bench with her moving over to Lucario who opened the door for them letting them step out before closing the door after them.

"Ash I'll let myself back into the pokemon area you head back to bed with Misty", Lucario said and Ash nodded at him letting Misty lead him back to their room as Lucario moved off back to the pokemon area alone.

Ash looked down at the items on the bed doubling checking he had everything he is going to need, Cynthia visited Ash and Misty's room ten minutes earlier and gave both Ash and Misty each a selection of things to take with them including a small high powered torch each, since the temples are probably going to be dark the lower they get and they might not have torches to light like the one Ash visited in the Miracle Islands. Add to the torch Ash has got another set of clothes from Cynthia. Along with the stuff Cynthia gave Ash, the stuff Ash brought with him sit on the bed.

"Ash what's that", Misty asked pointing to the vial of water that Ash got from the Lake of Life which Ash took it out of the set of socks he was using to protect it from smashing.

"Oh that's water from the Lake of Life, when i went to get the water for your cure i was told by the guy there that the Celebi that lives at the lake said that I'll need it sometime in the future so I'm keeping it with me so that whoever needs it can be given it as soon as possible", Ash replied remembering he hadn't mention the second vial of water to Misty when he told her about all that happened in the Miracle Islands.

"Oh right, so someone is going to get seriously hurt on this journey if that water is needed because that water has amazing healing powers doesn't it?" Misty replied and Ash nodded placing the vial back into the set of socks placing the last of the items into his bag placing the socks into the bag wedged between the spare clothes so not to move around to much and smash.

"Misty everything is going to be fine, whoever needs the water will get it and they'll be back to their normal self in hours. We can't dwell on it right now, maybe if things work out right it might not be needed at all. Misty we can still change our own destinies if we try, the future isn't set in stone just yet", Ash replied and Misty nodded at him placing the last few items in her bag as well zipping it placing in on her shoulder following Ash out the bedroom and through the office where Pikachu jumped onto Ash shoulder before they stepped into the main part of the base. "Everyone's meeting up in the airport let's go", Ash added and Misty nodded sliding her hand into Ash moving with him through the base to the lift. Ash pressed the call button and the lift doors opened a few seconds later letting them step in before closing again moving off.

The doors opened and both Ash and Misty stepped out moving through the crowd of people till they joined their friends who were stood together chatting. "Everyone alright?" Ash asked and all his friends nodded at him. "Serena, Clemont and Bonnie you three look after yourself won't you", Ash added.

"We will, Serena and her mum are coming to the gym to stay with me and Bonnie since the extra security should keep us all out of harms way. arrive a few hours before we do Serena's mum should arrive a few hours before we do as dad left about an hour ago to pick her up. Dad's then going to join Diantha and her group in checking out the temple once we arrive in Kalos. I called him last night to explain what was happening and he suggested that Serena and her mum stayed at the gym and he joined Diantha so that he can help keep us out of the fighting if the Immortals do rise", Clemont answered.

"Sounds good, Cynthia told me that the security should be there by the time you arrive and they've been told to listen to anything you ask of them", Ash replied and Clemont nodded.

The lift doors opened again and the four champions stepped out, "Alright then lets get going, the Hoenn and Kanto/Johto parties please follow Steven to the docks, there's two ships waiting to depart down there", Cynthia started and Max and May gave everyone a quick wave before following Steven out the door and out of view. Unova's party please follow Alder your plane is the first one going to leave in five minutes it's on the runway." Cynthia added and Iris and Cilan moved as well following Alder out the door onto the runway. "Everyone else follow me the three other planes are in the hanger ready for us to board, Ash your plane is the next one to leave, then mine and finally Diantha will leave last", Cynthia continued and Ash nodded at her joining the line of people following Cynthia with Misty and Brock either side of him. Alan and Lana appeared beside Misty and they moved out the airport into the hanger area together.

Ash spotted their plane right away it was the same one they arrived on, Ash rushed up the stairs and everyone followed. Pikachu jumped off Ash shoulder taking the front seat by the window on the right of the plane and Ash took the seat on the left by the window at the front. Misty sat down next to Ash and Brock took the seat next to Pikachu. Alan and Lana took the seats behind Brock and Pikachu belting themselves in.

"Ash when we get back to the Grandis region there will be a car waiting for us to take us on the next part of our journey to where we'll board the balloon which will take us to the temple, Ash i hope you don't mind, but I've asked my apprentice Edward to join our expedition to the temple", Alan informed Ash.

"No that's fine, the more the merrier", Ash replied and Ash watched as the plane's door closed and they started to slowly move out of the hanger.

The balloon glided past the last part of the mountain and Ash looked at Misty and Brock before looking down at the temple below. As the balloon operator set to work on getting them to land, Ash looked back at the other balloon holding Alan, Lana and Edward. Ash first impression of Edward was a good one, he seemed like a nice guy and he really seemed to know a lot about the temple which he kindly explained to Ash on the way to the balloons. While Alan drove Misty, Brock and Ash got the chance to really get to know their new companions.

Ash was a little taken back when Lana admitted that her and Edward were a couple and he could see by the look on Brock's face he was a little upset about that fact. Ash had noticed a few looks from Brock since they met Lana a few days ago, but Ash pushed them off as normal Brock behaviour he falls for every single pretty girl he meets, but maybe this time it might of been different.

Ash felt the balloon touch down on the ground about fifty metres from the entrance to the temple and the second balloon touched down on their right. Alan jumped out of the balloon quickly followed by Edward and Lana, Ash followed their lead with Brock exiting after him before they both had to help a struggling Misty out the balloon. "Right well let's not stand on ceremony, we're here for a reason and I don't see the point in hanging around we're on borrowed time, who knows what's happening in the other regions. Ash you've not heard anything yet?" Alan said moving towards the entrance of the temple and everyone else moved after him.

"No nothing yet, but i guess no news is good new at the moment", Ash replied and Alan gave a small nod as they reached the steps leading into the temple. Everyone reached into their bags pulling out their torches before moving down the stairs into the temple.

Ash felt Misty slip her hand into his and she gave it a small squeeze, Ash moved his torch slightly so he could see her face a bit more clearly. "You alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm just slightly jittery right now, over thinking about what might be hiding down here", Misty replied and Ash nodded.

"No worries I'll protect you from anything that tries to jump us don't you worry", Ash replied and Misty smiled as Ash returned his torch back to it's old position as they reached the bottom of the steps moving into the first room in the temple.

Ash moved his torch beam around the room and he could see everyone else doing the same, "Wow this is amazing, was the other temple this amazing Ash?" Misty asked and Ash nodded. "It's one thing seeing a temple in picture, but seeing it up close and in person really does make it ten times more impressive", Misty added and Ash gave her a smile.

"Right let's keep going if this temple is as large as the other one it's going to take quite a while to reach the final room", Ash said and everyone nodded moving toward the other end of the room moving into the next corridor focusing their torches on the way in front of them.

The journey through the temple was quicker than the one in the Miracle island as they didn't stop as much as Max, Tracey and Ash had. They did stop in a few rooms to marvel at the amazing pictures and for Alan to explain some of the writing that was different to the other temple, but in the end they reached the last room. It was identical to the one in the Miracle island down to the picture of the wolf on the wall. "Ash try and open the room while we're still in the room with you", Alan asked.

Ash moved to the picture pressing it like he had in the Miracle Islands, but it didn't work. "No seems like it's not going to open with you guys here, move back into the last room we walked through and I'll meet you there in a few minutes", Ash said and everyone nodded at him moving back the way they came leaving Ash alone. Ash pressed his hand to the picture and he knew it had worked this time as he felt the wall shake and the door appeared like it had back in the Miracle islands.

Ash moved through the door and he looked around the room, like the rest of the temple it was pretty much similar to the one in the Miracle Islands. The room is lit up by the green fire that Ash is now sure came from Flareo. Ash moved to the middle of the room picking up the keystone and staff piece unzipping his bag placing them with the ones from the other temple. Ash waited to see if Lucida was speak to him to congratulate him for getting the second part, but she didn't so he turned around moving out the room again. The door closed after him just like it had in the other temple and he used his torch to find him way back across the room and up the corridor into the room where his friends are waiting for him.

"Did it open?" Misty asked and Ash nodded at her.

"Yeah it did, I've got the stone and staff piece so let's get back to the entrance I've had enough darkness for one day", Ash replied moving off. Ash felt Misty's hand slip into his a few seconds later and her footsteps were soon joined by everyone else's


	7. Temple Defence - Part 1

Ash's watch started to react as soon as he stepped out the temple and he pressed his finger to the screen watching it light up and images of all the other champions appeared in front of him. "Ash we've been trying to contact you for nearly an hour and a half", Steven informed Ash.

"Sorry I was in the temple obviously the signal couldn't get through, what's up?" Ash replied.

"Ash we thought we needed to update each other about what's going on in each region. Right I'll begin another group of men attacked the forest earlier and once again we managed to repel them, but it was very close this time and we have lost about a quarter of our force through injury so we're going to need more people if we're to repel them again when they attack", Alder answered.

"Okay we'll I'm sure we can find more people to send to you Alder", Ash replied.

"Yeah we can, the remaining numbers from my force will be heading over to Unova to join up with Alder as soon as we can. Ash we failed to protect the temple holding Flareo we were to late. They were already there by the time we turned up and we tried to stop them, but they were already in the final room and managed to grab Flareo's stone before we could do anything to really stop them", Diantha answered and Ash nodded slightly pissed off not at Diantha or the group who were supposed to stop the men, but just at the world in general that they even have to try and stop the Immortals from rising.

"Okay no worries, what about your group any casualties?" Ash replied.

"A few including the dad of your friends Clemont and Bonnie, it's not serious, but he won't be able to fly with us to Unova. He's in the hospital now sleeping and they think he should be ready to be released tomorrow morning, I'm at the moment finishing a letter that I'm going to leave him explaining everything including Steven's information about the threat against the gyms he's going to be needed at the gym something tells me", Diantha answered and Ash nodded.

"So they've got one of the Immortals...", Ash started, but Steven quickly butted in.

"Three actually Ash, you were right they had been to Hydris's temple and it is destroyed, but they've also been to the one in Mount Silver and collected the stone that holds Fissura as well. Ash they blew up the temple just over three hours ago and the damage they've caused is catastrophic, they've caused landslides, earthquakes both Kanto and Johto felt the mountain come crashing down. So far we're keeping the cause of the damage as secret as we can, we've got the people back at the island putting out stories about years of pokemon activity mounting up till it caused the mountain to come crashing down", Steven explained and Ash started to feel like there was a huge weight crashing down on him.

"Bloody hell these people really don't mess around do they, all the work it took to build these temples and they destroy them without a care in the world. What about the surroundings towns and cities near the mountain, what the damage like?"

"Bad Ash, we've got rescue forces on their way now and we should have news in the next few hours about how bad it is."

"Okay we've just got to hope that no one has been killed or seriously hurt, but that's sounding extremely unlikely. Cynthia what about Umbra's temple have they been there yet?" Ash asked.

"No right now it's quite, but they'll be coming now more than ever there's only this one and the one Alder's protecting left if they want to collect all five Immortals. Ash we need as many people as we can to repel them, we're calling in anyone we can and since this is the strongest of the Immortals they're going to want it more than the rest. Ash we need you here as well Dawn and Davis have told me about the power of your aura and I think we're going to need it in the coming battle. Ash I know we said it was more important for you to get the stones and staff pieces, but people have been injured and might still die. We have to stop these monsters from hurting anyone else."

"Cynthia you're right, we'll be there as soon as we can", Ash replied and all the champions nodded at him. "Steven what about you, May and Max where are you going?"

"Ash me, Max and May aren't coming to either temple just yet, we're sending a force to help in each one though", Steven answered.

"Why aren't you coming yet?" Ash asked.

"Ash there's something else we've found out and it's not good. Ash we spotted some dodgy looking men once we arrived back in Slateport City and I followed them wanting to see what they were up to. Ash they were discussing the next step of the plan, these men who seem to be attacking the temples seem to be part of some organisation called Team Infinta and there plan is to take control of all the regions and to do this they've got to get rid of a few people and places that could get in their way. Ash they're going to destroy the gyms, the pokemon labs including professor Oak's lab and then turn their attention to the police forces, the pokemon center and finally places like Devon corporation, Silph Corp and any other businesses that make items that can stop their plan of world domination. Ash me, Max and May are going to look into and stop them from this end while trying to warn everyone who's in danger of what's coming", Steven answered.

"Team Infinta, what a strange name I wonder why they're called that", Ash commented.

"Let me answer that Ash I have a theory", Alan answered, "Ash you remember I said that there was tribe of humans called the guardians of light and they helped defeat the Immortals, well there was another called the infinity tribe. After the immortals appeared for some strange region they seemed to believe that they were gods and that they were only attacking because the humans had angered them. Ash they worshipped them and I wouldn't be surprised if you looked into their background the people who woke the Immortals all the other times it wouldn't show that they are actually the descendants of that tribe and that the people collecting the Immortals now aren't descendants as well", Alan continued.

"They can't all be descendants of the tribe can they?", Alder asked.

"No probably not, but they must believe in what Team Infinta is attempting to do and must believe that waking the Immortals is the right thing to do so that makes them just as crazy and dangerous", Alan answered.

"Okay so know we know what we're up against I guess, but we're still up against the odds, they've got three out of the five Immortals and unless we stop them from getting the other two as well, we could be facing the end of day as we know them. Right everyone let's stop talking and start acting we're be there as soon as we can, Cynthia if they attack before we get there hold them off for as long as you can", Ash replied and Cynthia nodded. "Steven leave the call to professor Oak to me, it'll probably be better coming from me", Ash added and Steven nodded at him.

"Yeah you're probably right, well I guess hopefully we'll see each other again soon", Steven replied and Ash and the other champions nodded at him.

"Alder and Cynthia tell our friends that are with you we'll see them soon" Ash added.

"I will", Alder answered.

"Me too Ash", Cynthia added.

"Thanks", Ash replied leaving the call turning to look at his travelling companions who had looks of worry that's probably being mirrored from the look on his face right now.

It took nearly a day, but finally Ash's plane flew over the start of the island that is home to Umbra's temple. The journey would of taken a little shorter, but Cynthia called Ash and asked him to stop off at Indigo Plateau and grab more trainers to help defend the temple including Bruno from the elite four and now every seat is taken on the plane and they had to find other places to put people so they wouldn't be in the way or get injured when they land on the island.

Ash used the time on the plane constructively and called Oak and explained all the new stuff that Steven had learnt and between them they created an escape plan out of Pallet for Ash's mum, Oak, Gary, Tracey and anyone else they could convince. Oak told Ash that he would start to pack up anything the wouldn't need to use day to day, but needed in the long run ready to leave at a moments notice. He also agreed to make sure that all of Ash's pokemon were protected and would make it to the champions island if professor Oak and the others did have to leave Pallet. Ash also tried to call Clemont, but he didn't answer his watch phone and when he tried the gym number it was answered by one of the men that the security firm had sent to the gym, the guy promised to pass on the message to Clemont about Team Infinta's plan for the gym.

"Mr Ketchum are you sure about this, it's very dangerous", the pilot asked not taking his eyes of the controls of the plane focusing his question to Ash who was stood behind his seat in the cockpit looking at the mountains in front of them getting closer and closer

"Yeah we've got no choice, Dawn called me under an hour ago and the battle has already begun. I'm sorry, but we don't have time to wait for you to land and then move across the whole island to get to the temple. All we need you to do is fly as close to the entrance to the cave as is safely possible and we'll do the rest. We can't open the doors to the plane as that will be to dangerous so Lana's pokemon are going to teleport me, her, Bruno from the Elite four and Misty down to the entrance and we'll join the fight as you head back to where you're going to land and then the rest of the trainers will head to the temple from there", Ash replied.

"Okay sir will do, please get ready to teleport we'll be there in under two minutes", the pilot announced and Ash nodded moving back to the main cabin.

"The pilot said we need to get ready", Ash announced to Misty, Bruno and Lana who all nodded at him getting up from their chairs.

"Out you come Gallade and Gardevoir", Lana called and both of her pokemon appeared in front of her. "Okay Ash and Misty hold on one of Gallade's arms each and me and Bruno will teleport with Gardevoir", Lana continued and Ash and Misty did as she asked taking hold of Gallade's arms watching as Bruno and Lana did the same with Gardevoir.

After Dawn's call they had a quick brainstorming session on how to best help and Lana came up with the idea of teleporting a small group from the plane to help the defenders at the temple while the plane landed and the rest of the group covered the island to join them. Once it was decided that they were going to teleport off the plane, she explained the story of how she came to have Gallade and Gardevoir to Ash, Misty and Brock. She came across both of them while they were both still Ralts while she was on her travels as a pokemon trainer a few years earlier. They are brother and sister and along with their mum a Gardevoir they were being stalked by a pokemon hunter who was trying to capture all three of them, Lana managed to save them, but their mom was captured and they looked far and wide for any sign of their mom, but now years later they aren't any closer to finding her.

"Mr Ketchum we're nearly there, I recommend you teleport anytime now", the pilot voice said across the sound system.

"Okay well that's our cue, Gardevoir, Gallade teleport us down", Lana called and Ash felt his feet leave the plane and a few seconds later he felt the wind rushing through his hair. Ash looked down and saw the ground rushing to meet them. Ash's feet hit the floor a second later and he felt his legs give way below him and he fell to his knees. Ash looked around and saw that all three of his companions plus the two pokemon were also on their knees. "Well that didn't go exactly to plan, but we were only a few feet off the ground, everyone alright?" Lana said and Ash, Misty and Bruno nodded at her as they got to their feet and she recalled both her pokemon to their pokeballs.

Ash turned around looking at the cave in front of them before turning the other way spotting their plane moving the opposite way. "Alright we could already be to late so lets not waste anymore time lets get through the cave", Ash said and everyone nodded at him following him into the cave.

Soon enough they could hear the sounds of battle and they increased their pace rushing out the exit of the cave taking in the scene in front of them. Their was battles going on all around the area in front of them and around those battle there was signs of earlier battles as well.

Ash scanned the area right in front of him and saw two battle going on in close proximity to them, to the right of him there were two defenders being attacked by four members of team Infinta. Ash looked at Bruno and he nodded to confirm they were on the same page, "Ash I'll help them, you focus on the one to your left he looks like he needs help. Ash look for your friend Dawn and we'll meet you at the entrance to the temple, that's where the main battle is probably raging", Bruno suggested and Ash nodded at him.

"See you in a bit", Ash replied as Bruno ran off to help the two defenders calling out his Onix ordering it to attack one of the pokemon belonging to the member of team Infinta. Ash turned back to the battle going onto his left and realised something for the first time he recognised the defender who is battling his heart out against two members of Team Infinta it's Davis.

"Crawdaunt hit Lucario with a full power, Scald", one of the two trainers called.

"Lucario dodge that attack", Davis called and Lucario obeyed dodging the attack the Crawdaunt had fired at it.

"Xatu use Shadow ball", the other trainer called.

"Pikachu you're up, use thunderbolt to intercept that attack", Ash called and Pikachu jumped of his shoulder running forward before jumping to the air releasing a powerful thunderbolt that intercepted the attack before destroying it completely. Ash, Misty and Lana ran to join up with Davis and Davis smiled at Ash as he approached.

"Nice timing Ash, shall we show them the power of two aura guardians combined?", Davis asked and Ash nodded. "Lucario hit Crawdaunt with a full power aura sphere",Davis continued.

"And Pikachu hit Xatu with a full power thunderbolt", Ash cried and both pokemon fired off this attacks at team Infinta's pokemon and they hit head on sending them crashing into their trainers out cold.

"You may of won this battle, but we're winning the war", the trainers who owns the Xatu muttered and Ash looked at him.

"Maybe for now, but that will soon change", Ash replied and Xatu's trainer laughed grabbing something from his pocket chucking it to the floor in front of Ash where it exploded causing a large amount of smoke to billow out hiding the two trainers from Ash's view.

"Pidgeot clear this smoke", Ash heard Lana call and a few seconds later the smoke cleared and Ash could see the battlefield in front of him again.

"Damn they got away, right lets not dwell on that right now. Davis do you know where Dawn and Cynthia are?" Ash asked.

"No sorry we were together when the battle started, but we got separated by this large explosion", Davis replied.

"Okay well we need to find them and fast, the quickest way to do this is to split up into pairs and cover the area by air, whoever find them first signals the other pair by firing a ball of aura into the air, sound good Davis?" Ash suggested and Davis nodded.

"Good right, lets get going, Charizard I need you", Ash replied calling out his Charizard.

"Salamance out you come", Davis added and soon both pokemon were stood in front of their trainers. Davis jumped onto Salamance's back and Lana climbed up as well sitting behind Davis holding to the back of his shirt for safety. Ash climbed onto Charizard's back before helping Misty up who caught Pikachu as he jumped up onto Charizard's back taking a seat in between Ash and Misty safe and secure in between their bodies.

"Right how about we'll go left and you go right", Ash suggested.

"Sounds good", Davis answered and Ash gave him a small smile, "Alright Salamance off we go", Davis added and Salamance jumped into the air.

"You to buddy", Ash said giving Charizard a small pat and Charizard jumped into the air soaring up into the air. Ash and Misty gave one last look at Davis and Lana before both pair soared off in their different directions.

Ash watched as people turned and pointed up at them as they soared over the area looking for Dawn and soon attacks started to soar towards them. Without even thinking Ash fired off balls of aura from one hand meeting the attacks before they reached them while also blocking any attacks that his attacks missed with a shield he created with his other hand.

"Misty are you alright?" Ash asked as he blocked yet another attack.

"Yeah I'm fine Ash, lets just keep looking for Dawn", Misty replied and Ash nodded.

Ash and Misty continued to soar over there half of the battlefield looking out for Dawn, but after flying over the whole area once they hadn't seen her, "Misty there's no sign of her shall we go round again?", Ash asked.

"We have to, just encase we missed her she could be in trouble", Misty replied.

"Charizard we need to do another circuit of our half", Ash informed his pokemon who nodded moving off again.

"Ash over there", Misty shouted grabbing Ash's arm pointing to an area about three hundred metres to their left after they reached the half way point of their circuit. Ash looked in the direction Misty was pointing at and his anger at Team Infinta increased. Dawn was being surrounded by four men all with a pokemon each out moving closer to her, Ash could only see Piplup and Quilava stood next to Dawn "We've got to help her", Misty cried and Ash nodded.

"And we will Misty, hold on", Ash replied an Misty nodded tightening her grip on Ash. . "Charizard get us to Dawn quick as you can", Ash continued and Charizard dove down towards her and Ash had to battle to hold and he could feel Misty was having the same problem. "Charizard clear us a place to land, use flamethrower to knock Dawn's attackers back and then land just in front of her", Ash shouted and Charizard nodded releasing a massive flamethrower from his jaws forcing the pokemon back away slightly "Misty hold on we're about to land" Ash nodded and Misty nodded.

Charizard landed and Ash quickly jumped off Charizard's back followed by Pikachu and a few seconds later. Misty slipped off Charizard's back moving to Dawn and Ash could hear her asking Dawn if she was okay. Ash quickly released his Sceptile and Lucario who were joined by Charizard and Pikachu facing up against one of the pokemon each.

"You think you can beat us alone" one of the guys asked and Ash nodded.

"Yep quite easily, but if you want I don't have to show you up. You can walk away and leave this place and we'll act like you were never here", Ash replied.

"No I think we'll stay and show you up instead", another one of the men replied.

Ash let out a small smile before turning to his pokemon, "Show them why they should of taken my offer." All four of his pokemon nodded at him rushing towards team Infinta's pokemon firing their most powerful attacks at each one of them. The battle was over in under a minutes and soon the men called back their pokemon rushing off away from Ash clearly slightly afraid of Ash and his pokemon.

Ash turned to Dawn giving her a small smile which she quickly returned, "Ash I'm so glad you're here, I thought I was a goner", Dawn admitted.

"No worries Dawn, that's what friends are for, as soon as we got here my first concern was making sure you were okay. Dawn we'll talk more later I promise, but right now we've got to get to the entrance of the temple and find Cynthia" Ash replied calling back Sceptile and Lucario to their pokeballs.

"Yeah lets go, ", Dawn replied calling back her Piplup and Quilava.

"Right let's just inform Lana and Davis we've found you", Ash said out loud firing a ball of aura into the air, it flew hundred feet into the air before exploding giving a blue flash. Ash looked across the battlefield and saw Davis's Salamance soaring towards them, it dived landing on the ground in front of them. "Davis can Salamance carry one more person?" Ash asked and Davis nodded.

"Yeah sure, Dawn up you come", Davis replied and Dawn moved over to Salamance letting Lana and Davis help her up before sitting behind Lana. "I take it we're heading to the entrance of the temple now", Davis continued and Ash nodded.

"Yep we've got to find Cynthia and work together to turn the tide of this battle in our favour, we've got more people coming to help, but I don't know if they'll arrive in time the way it's going right now", Ash replied and Davis gave a small nod as Ash, Misty and Pikachu climbed back onto Charizard. Both Charizard and Salamance jumped back into the air turning slightly so they were in line with the entrance of the temple moving off together.

The scene that greeted them at the entrance to the temple was worse than any other place on the battlefield, the defenders were boxed in and were having trouble continuously repelling the attackers. For each person they would defeat two more would take their place and fight harder than the ones before. "Davis we've got to get down there and help, everyone get ready to release your pokemon", Ash shouted and everyone nodded at him placing their hand on their pokeballs as the two pokemon dove down towards the entrance.

Ash could see that everyone by the entrance was now looking up at the two pokemon and as soon as they realised they were landing jumped back to avoid them and that gave Ash's group time to jump off the two pokemon and released their whole teams. "Force them back give us some room", Ash ordered and all the pokemon nodded at him forcing the attacking pokemon back step by step.

Ash turned to face the me that were defending the temple, "Thank you", one of the defenders said.

"No worries, do you know where Cynthia is?" Ash replied.

"In the temple, I'm guessing by the company you've got with you that you're Ash Ketchum", the defenders answered.

"Yeah I am, why is she in the temple?" Ash continued.

"A group of about twelve men managed to get through our defence and carry in a large box. Cynthia took a small force into the temple to try and stop them as she said that she can't let them get the last stone", the defender replied.

"The last stone does that mean that the group in Unova have got into the temple as well", Ash asked and the guy nodded, "What about the people who were defending the temple, are they okay?" Ash continued.

"We don't know, the men from team Infinta told us that they had got the stone from Unova and Cynthia tried to get in contact with Alder or someone else from that region, but with no luck so we don't know and she decided that it doesn't look good and we have to take what team Infinta said as the truth", the defender replied and Ash nodded. "Where is the rest of your group?", the defender continued.

"They're on their way, once we got Dawn's call to say that the battle had already begun we teleported four of us off the plane to try and help you and hold team Infinta off long enough for them to get to us", Ash replied and the defender nodded. "Okay I'm going to head in there and help Cynthia so I want you to hold the entrance for as long as you can", Ash explained and the defender nodded again. "Davis you stay and help, Dawn and Misty you come with me into the temple", Ash continued and his friends nodded at him. Ash recalled all his pokemon except Lucario and Pikachu and he watched as Misty and Dawn called back all their pokemon pulling torches from their bag, Ash grabbed his as well and they moved down the stairs and into the temple.


	8. Temple Defence - Part 2

Ash's trio reached the bottom of the steps and heard a huge bang echoing below them quickly followed by a large tremor shaking the floor below them, "What was that?", Dawn cried.

"I hope I'm wrong, but it sounds like they've just blown the wall to Umbra's resting place, we've got to hurry", Ash replied and both girls nodded at him rushing off with him and Lucario down the corridor torches trained on the area ahead of them.

They reached the bottom floor without any more tremors or noises, but as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs the sounds of battles and shouting reached them. "You can't wake him, he'll destroy the world", a voice Ash is sure belongs to Cynthia cried.

"You underestimate Team Infinta champion, Umbra and the other four Immortals will do just as we ask. We've spent years working towards bringing them back and having full control over them. The machine we just entered his stone into will wake him, but it will also strap a control band on him as well, he'll listen to everything we say or face the consequences", a female voice answered back.

Ash rushed into the final room and took the scene in front of him in, Cynthia was the last person standing the small group of people she brought to help are knocked out around her while all twelve of the attacking force from Team Infinta is still standing all facing her. "Cynthia are you alright?" Ash asked as he stepped into the room stopping beside her keeping his focus on Team Infinta as Misty moved to stand next to him and Dawn stood on the opposite side of Cynthia to Ash.

"You're here thank god, they've got the stone and if we don't stop that machine Umbra will wake in the next few minutes", Cynthia answered looking at Ash who moved his gaze to the machine sat in the middle of the room, Ash can see Umbra's stone sat in the machine glowing slightly.

"Lucario destroy that machine", Ash cried and Lucario fired off an aura sphere at the machine, but it fizzled out a feet from the machine.

"Silly boy like we wouldn't have a defence mechanism built in to stop you from destroying it Ash Ketchum Lucida's chosen champion. She's really picked a weakling this time, like you could ever defeat the Immortals. They are gods and no one definitely not you can defeat them", a woman who asked assumed was the leader said sneering at Ash from beside the machine.

"How do you know who I am?" Ash asked as the trainers Cynthia brought with her started to come round and push themselves to their feet.

"We've got spies all over the regions and we hear things including you plan to collect the stone pieces and staff pieces and here was me thinking we have to come looking for you, but here you are to witness Umbra's rising. I hope you've said goodbye to your loved ones because you won't be seeing them again", the woman answered and Ash started to witness a strange energy pulsing off the machine.

"Cynthia get everyone out of her, Misty and Dawn that means you as well. Leave this to me and Lucario", Ash shouted not taking his eyes off the machine.

"Ash I'm not leaving you", Misty cried grabbing hold of Ash's arm.

"Misty please help Dawn and Cynthia get everyone out, I promise I'll meet you outside in a minute", Ash replied taking his eyes of the machine quickly to look into Misty's eyes who gave him a small nod before giving him a small kiss on the lips rushing over to help Dawn and Cynthia guide the still slightly confused trainers out of the room and into the corridor.

"You think you can defeat us all on your own?" the woman asked.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I won't let you hurt my friends", Ash replied and the woman laughed as Lucario stepped in front of Ash quickly joined by Pikachu who jumped off Ash's shoulder.

"Well there's one flaw in that plan, you can't stop everyone from leaving and you'll have your hands full with my two strongest pokemon", the woman replied "All of you get after them" ,the woman continued and all of the members of Team Infinta nodded at her rushing towards Ash as she grabbed two pokeballs off her belt releasing the pokemon within a Chandelure and a Nidoking. "Chandelure use flamethrower on Lucario, Nidoking use earth power" the woman commanded.

Both pokemon fired off their attacks at Ash's pokemon, but Lucario was ready, he summoned a shield of aura around them both blocking the attacks as the last of the members of Team Infinta left the room. "Lucario good job, but lets show her some of yours and Pikachu's power. Lucario use aura sphere on Nidoking and Pikachu use a full power thunderbolt on Chandelure", Ash said and both of his pokemon nodded at him firing off their attacks at the woman's pokemon, but they didn't do as much damage as he hoped.

"Ash we're at a disadvantage here, my strongest attacks need more room and Pikachu has to be careful not to hit more or you with his attacks", Lucario informed Ash as he summoned another shield to protect him, Pikachu and Ash from the attacks that Nidoking and Chandelure had just fired at them.

"So what do we do?" Ash replied as the machine holding Umbra started to vibrate louder and faster giving off waves of a strange energy every few seconds. "Umbra's waking", Ash added.

"Ash we've got one last option, but it doesn't work we've got to retreat and rethink our approach outside, if Umbra wakes then we'll have to face him and defeat him and the other four Immortals. Ash I think we both knew that the Immortals were going to wake and we would face them, but I guess we both hoped that we would have Lucida by our side when they did wake, we can still wake her it just might be a bit harder with the Immortals and Team Infinta fighting us every step of the way", Lucario replied.

"What's our last option?", Ash asked.

"You need to summon up as much are possible and try to destroy the machine completely", Lucario replied and Ash nodded summoning up as much aura as he can. Lucario dropped the shield and Ash directed the aura straight at the machine, it started to crack the defence around the machine, but it soon repaired itself and Ash had to give up as he felt the effect of summoning so much aura take its toll on his body. "Ash it's no use we have to get out of here, if Umbra wake he's going to destroy the whole temple as he tries to get above ground we've got to be out and clear the area around it before he wakes or loads of people will get hurt", Lucario added and Ash nodded. "Ash we need a small diversion to get away", Lucario added.

"Leave that to me, I've got enough energy for one more thing", Ash replied summoning a ball of aura in his hand before letting to cover his hand, Ash flicked his wrist sending small daggers of aura at the area in front of the woman. She jumped back and Ash took his chance grabbing Pikachu rushing off with Lucario back out the room as the machine started to get louder and Ash could swear he could hear monstrous roar starting to echo out of it as well.

Ash and Lucario had only just reached the next level when they felt an almighty quake begun under their feet. Ash didn't get a chance to say anything before he felt Lucario grab him placing him and Pikachu in his arms as Lucario continued to ran along the corridor. "Lucario why did you grab me?"

"Ash we're running out of time and we wouldn't make it if we ran at your top speed, at mine we'll be out in no time hold on", Lucario answered as they reached the stairs leading to the next floor. Lucario bounded up them in three steps not slowing down and within two minutes Ash, Lucario and Pikachu flew out the temple and landed back outside.

Lucario placed Ash down and Ash ran forward to join Misty, Dawn, Cynthia, Davis and Lana who along with about another ten people were forcing the members of Team Infinta away from the temple, but Ash soon realised something Team Infinta were allowing themselves to be pushed back.

"Everyone forget Team Infinta and run as far away from the temple entrance as possible", Ash cried and Misty and Dawn looked at him before nodding leaving them group moving off together away from the temple. Cynthia looked at Ash, "Cynthia Umbra's going to wake and if we're to close to the temple we're going to feel him exploding out of it", Ash explained and she nodded.

"Everyone get away from the temple that's an order", Cynthia cried and everyone recalled their pokemon running past Team Infinta and away from the temple. Ash recalled Lucario as he rushed off in the direction Misty and Dawn had gone.

Ash reached Dawn and Misty and was quickly joined by Davis Lana and Cynthia, "Ash what happened down there after we left?" Cynthia asked.

"Well I tried to destroy the machine failed, tried to battle her pokemon and was sort of handicapped by the temple roof so me and Lucario agreed we couldn't win the battle down there. Cynthia the Immortals will rise and it's going to be hard, but I promise we will beat them", Ash replied and Cynthia nodded.

"Ash I know you did all you could", Cynthia said as a huge roared echoed from the temple. The ground below them began to shake and Ash grabbed Misty and Dawn pulling them closer to him before turning to the other three.

"Cynthia, Davis, Lana get closer to me, I'm going to try and shield us from any flying debris", Ash explained and all three of them nodded moving closer to Ash. Ash created an dome of aura and he could feel Lucario lending some of his strength as well to keep it going as the ground below them begun to shaker harder and faster until another roar ripped through the ground and the part of the temple above ground exploded upwards and outwards.

Ash watched as people dove to the floor to dodge the incoming projectiles, part of the temple crashed into Ash's dome and he felt it begin to give way, but he sent a new wave of aura to repair the dome and send the debris flying away from them. Ash looked towards what used to be the entrance to the temple as a head quickly followed by a body climbed out of the hole in the ground, it's legs exited last and as soon as they had it took flight it's huge wings expanding before flapping sending huge winds out from it knocking anyone and anything close to it away from it.

Umbra rose higher and higher till he was a good two hundred metres in the air looking down upon the battlefield. Ash saw his gaze move across the area around Ash and the others and he soon spotted them encased in the dome of aura. Ash noticed for the first time that there was a figure on the shoulder of Umbra who seemed to be giving him orders. Ash watched as Umbra started to slowly lower himself towards the ground and he got a better look at the figure on his shoulder, it's the woman from the temple and she's got a headset on that she seems to be speaking into and Ash realised that must be how she's controlling Umbra.

"Umbra show them your power", Ash heard her order as the wind carried her voice down to him and the others.

"Everyone get closer to me, I need to make the dome smaller so I can double the thickness off it and protect us", Ash shouted and everyone nodded at him moving closer to him as he pulled the dome walls closer to them watching as the walls started to thicken.

Umbra fired off it's attack and Ash knew the dome wouldn't hold even before the attack hit. The walls shattered and Ash was thrown away from his friends and Pikachu coming to a stop about twenty metres away from where he started. Ash felt apokeball shake on his belt and a few seconds later someone grab hold of him pulling up off the ground. Ash looked up at who it was finding the face of Lucario in front of him. "Ash if we're going to beat him we have to do it together", Lucario said as Ash steadied himself.

Ash searched the surrounding area for signs of Pikachu, Misty and the others, but he couldn't see them at the moment, but he did spot Umbra who had landed about one hundred metres to his left. Ash watched the woman from the temple slip off Umbra moving off towards a group of members from Team Infinta. "Lucario we're going to need some more help I think, out you come everyone", Ash replied pressing the buttons on his pokeballs releasing all his pokemon. Sceptile, Charizard, Greninja and Snorlax appeared in front of Ash, "Guys Umbra is awake and I need your help to fight him", Ash explained and all his pokemon nodded at him.

"Ash incoming", Lucario cried and Ash looked up noticing Umbra gliding in the air about forty metres in front of him. Umbra fired off a massive black ball towards him and Ash's instincts and training took over summoning a ball of aura making it as big as he could before firing it towards the black ball. The ball of aura crashed into Umbra's attack, but Ash could see his ball of aura was flickering out of existence, but without even asking he watched as five attacks fired up towards it joining with his ball of aura giving it the power it needed destroying the black ball completely.

"Thanks guys, we need to find Pikachu and the others", Ash shouted and his pokemon nodded at him moving off with him towards the area they had last seen the others.

Umbra fired off another attack, but it was intercepted before it even got close to Ash as a huge bolt of electric meet it and Ash watched as Pikachu quickly followed by Misty and the others came rushing towards them from Ash's left. Ash and his other pokemon joined him helping Pikachu to stop the attack destroying it completely. "Are you all aright?" Ash asked as Misty and the others stopped in front of him.

"Bit sore from the rough landing, but other than that I'm fine you?" Misty answered.

"Same", Ash replied.

"Ash what are we going to do?, it took you and all six of your pokemon to just stop one of his attacks and he doesn't even look like he's bothered or even like he's tiring", Cynthia asked.

"I don't know, Lana's dad did say that it would take a massive amount of pokemon to defeat just one of the Immortals and this is Umbra so I'm sure it's going to take even more...", Ash started, but stopped as Umbra fired off another attack at them. Ash fired off another ball of aura that was joined by attacks from all of his pokemon merging to one attack as they crashed into Umbra's attacks exploding like it had the other times as well.

"Ash you and your pokemon are looking worse each attack, they're tiring and so are you", Dawn said and Ash had to agree as he looked at his pokemon and know that he was in trouble, like him they were tiring extremely quickly having to keep firing off continuous attacks just to block Umbra's one and they haven't even managed to hit him yet.

"We're going to have to try something new, everyone we're going on the attack", Ash cried looking at his pokemon who nodded.

"Now this is something I want to see", a female voice shouted from Ash's right and he looked for the owner of the voice letting a small growl as he realised it was the woman from the temple.

"Who are you?", Ash asked.

"Well not that it'll matter to you soon, but you can call me Bellatrix and I guess soon the world will be calling me one of the five heads of Team Infinta that will soon control all the regions of the world. Come please show me the power of your pokemon, I'll even give you a free hit look. Umbra I command just glide in position don't defend the next attack fired at you", Bellatrix answered.

Ash looked from Bellatrix to Umbra and then back to Bellatrix wondering if it's a trap, but she just smiled at him motioning for him to attack, "Everyone fire off your strongest attacks at Umbra", Ash ordered and he watched as a thunderbolt, a flamethrower, a solar beam, a hydro pump, an aura blast and a hyper beam fired off towards Umbra merging to one multi coloured attack before crashing into Umbra right in the middle of his chest. Ash watched Umbra get forced back slightly, but he just moved back to his previous position like the attacks was nothing letting out a huge roar.

"Well that was very impressive Ash, but I'm afraid it just confirms what I already thought you're to dangerous to be left alone. You're not just Lucida's chosen champion, but you're a great trainer and I'm afraid we can't allow anyone to get in our way. At this exact moment we're closing in on the gyms and the pokemon labs so that they can't get in our way either. So I'm sorry, but this is goodbye, Umbra destroy them with a full power dark meteor", Bellatrix said and Umbra fired off another black ball this time twice as big as the ones Ash and his pokemon had already destroyed.

"Everyone get away from here leave this to me", Ash shouted and everyone nodded Misty gave Ash a quick kiss on the cheek before grabbing Dawn's hand rushing off with her and the others away from Ash. "Guys come on lets take that attack out as well", Ash continued and his pokemon nodded. Ash summoned twice the amount of aura that he had the last two times that he and his pokemon had destroyed Umbra's attack and he saw his pokemon were preparing stronger attacks than they had use the last three times as well. The seven attacks were released and they merged together just as they hit Umbra's attack. Ash could see it was close, but finally the two attacks exploded.

"Interesting, so I was right", Bellatrix said and Ash looked at her confused as she gave him a creepy smile before looking towards the area Misty had run. "She's your weakness, your love for her makes you weak and I'm going to use her to make you suffer and to send a message to the rest of the world. Anyone who stands in our way will face the same suffering, I'm going to take away your reason to fight. Umbra find that red headed girl and end her", Bellatrix continued shouting an evil laugh escaping her lips after she finished. Ash was off before she had finished his pokemon rushing after him.

Ash looked up at the sky watching as Umbra glided past him, he picked up the pace rushing through battles that he didn't even realise were still going on. With Umbra's attacking he hadn't realised that the battles had begun again, he dodged attacks and deflected others with his aura as he focused on reaching Misty before Umbra finds her.

Ash watched as Umbra stopped looking down at the area below it. Ash spotted Misty's red hair about fifty metres in front of him right where Umbra is looking down at. Misty's busy battling a member of Team Infinta using her Starmie while the member of Team Infinta has a Ariados and the way it looks like Misty's winning. Dawn, Cynthia, Lana and Davis all were deep in battle as well against members of Team Infinta around her and like Misty they hadn't noticed that Umbra is closing in on them at an alarming rate.

Ash turned to look at Charizard, Pikachu and Lucario, "I need you three to try and slow Umbra down, give me time to reach Misty." All three of them nodded at Ash and he smiled as Pikachu jumped on Charizard's back before Charizard took off aiming towards Umbra as Lucario sprinted across the area firing off attacks at Umbra. Charizard and Pikachu reached Umbra and they both fired off attacks as well and they did seem to be slowing Umbra down slightly as Ash recalled his other pokemon before continuing to run towards Misty.

Ash snuck another look towards Umbra and the scene in front of him scared him to death. Umbra had defeat Lucario, Pikachu and Charizard and all three of them were now lying on the ground while Umbra was diving towards Misty his claws starting to glow brighter and larger as he got closer to her.

Ash closed the tiny gap between him and Misty in a few steps jumping in front of Misty with his back to Umbra letting his backpack slip off his shoulders to the ground so he had full use of his arms. Misty looked at him confused as he summoned a shield of aura to protect them both. "Misty I love you."

Ash felt the attack hit the shield a few seconds later the shield gave way completely and Umbra's claws sliced through Ash's back and he let out a large cry as he thrown off his feet and away from Misty as he heard scream his name.

Ash crashed into the ground face first and he felt all the air get ripped from his body and he fought hard to get air into his lungs. Ash moved his arms below his body trying to push himself up, but he couldn't they wouldn't hold his weight as soon as he tried to push himself up they just went from under him and he crashed back to the floor.

Ash heard the sound of hooves getting closer and closer to him and then they stopped just in front of him. "Well you made it, but you're not looking in very good shape are you Ash", Ash lifted his head looking at Bellatrix laughing at him while sat on a Rapidash. Ash watched as she slid off the Rapidash and extended her hand out to Ash, "You know no one needs to get hurt all you need to do is join us, we could do with trainers like you", Bellatrix continued and Ash looked towards Misty who was once again battling the same member of Team Infinta as before.

"Never, I'll never join you, while there is still a reason to fight I will", Ash grunted trying to get back up again, but once again failed.

"Well don't say I didn't warn you, you might want to watch this or actually you might not. Umbra make the red head scream", Bellatrix said and Ash watched as Umbra's eyes started to glow red before firing off black beam from it's eyes towards Misty.

Ash summoned all the energy he could pushing himself up running forward his legs battling to keep moving. Ash used the last of his energy in his legs to jump in front of Misty summoning a shield of aura. The attack hit the shield and he felt himself get forced back as the shield started to vibrate from the power of Umbra's attack.

Ash felt Misty's hand land on his back. "Ash your back is shredded" Misty cried and he could see in the corner of his eyes that she had lifted one of her hands from his back and it was coated in his blood.

"I'm fine, once I've beaten Umbra I'll get patched up", Ash replied as he felt his shield start to vibrate faster and harder until his arms began to be forced back towards his body as the shield started to crack..

"Ash keep going, he can't keep it going much longer", Ash heard a female voice whisper inside his head and he knew it was Lucida even though she said he wonuldn't hear from her anymore now that's he fighting her husband she wants him to know he's not alone she's with him. Ash felt a new surge of energy and he forced it into the shield repairing it extending his arms back out again.

"Umbra he can't keep going much longer, give him everything you've got", Ash heard Bellatrix shouted from somewhere around him. Ash felt the onslaught on his shield increase and more and more cracks appeared in until they joined in the middle and the shield exploded and Ash knew no more as everything went black.


	9. Escape From Temple Island

Misty watched as Ash's shield exploded and his body was enveloped in a strange dark light. it lasted for a few seconds before it ended and his body fell into her open arms. Misty looked down at Ash's face and let out a small cry as she saw the expression of extreme fear and pain on Ash's face. "Ash please open your eyes tell me you're okay", Misty pleaded tears starting to slip out the corner of her eyes.

"Piakchuuuuu", Misty turned her gaze to the battle in front of her and watched as Pikachu, Lucario and Charizard appeared. Pikachu fired off a powerful thunder attack that hit everyone single pokemon belonging to team Infinta knocking them out. Pikachu, Lucario and Charizard closed the gap between Misty and them stopping in front of Misty looking at the limp body of their trainer. "Pika, pika", Pikachu asked and Misty shrugged understanding the gist of what Pikachu is asking.

"I don't know Pikachu, I really don't know if he's okay", Misty said lowering him safely to the ground kneeling down next to him. Davis rushed over kneeling down next to Misty grabbing Ash's wrist not saying anything to Misty, but she realised what he was doing he is searching for any sign of a pulse. Dawn moved to stand behind Misty placing her hand on Misty shoulder and Misty turned giving her a small smile.

"You won't find anything he's gone and now there's no one to stand in our way", Bellatrix cheered.

"If he's gone, I'm going to kill you", Misty screamed, but Bellatrix laughed at her.

"I would like to see you try little girl, your boyfriend is gone and if you like I can do the same to you, then you can be reunited on the other side", Bellatrix replied.

"You won't be touching one hair on her head", Cynthia said stepping in front of Misty pulling two pokeballs off her belt calling out her pokemon Garchomp and Gastrodon.

"You think you can defeat me and Umbra with just those two pokemon on your own as well, you may be a champion, but you're nothing compared to the power of an Immortal", Bellatrix replied letting out yet another large laugh.

"She isn't on her own and she's got more than two pokemon and so do I and so do they", Misty looked up as the owner of the voice moved over to stand next to Cynthia and Misty let out a small smile as she realised it was Bruno and he hadn't come alone more people were moving to stand either side of him and Cynthia calling out their pokemon all facing towards Bellatrix.

"Still not enough, Umbra will annihilate you all and then we'll join up with my comrades in the other regions and the five Immortals will lay waste to anything we deem unimportant in the new world we are going to create" Bellatrix screamed.

"Well if you say so, but you've got to beat us first we'll never let you destroy the world while we can still stop you", Cynthia replied while calling out her remaining four pokemon Glaceon, Spiritomb, Roserade and her Lucario.

Misty watched as Cynthia, Bruno and the other people he brought with him started to fire off attacks at Bellatrix and Umbra. Bellatrix galloped off on Rapidash as soon as the attacks started to fly retreating a safe distance before issuing out commands to Umbra over the headset Misty can see her speaking into. All the attacks Umbra releases are destroyed by the attacks fired from the pokemon defending her, Ash and the others.

"Misty he's alive, there a pulse it's faint but he's still with us", Davis whispered and Misty couldn't help, but smile Ash is alive.

"What can we do?" Misty asked.

"We need to get him some medical help and fast, those wounds are seriously deep on his back and I don't know what that second attack did to him, but he seems like he's in pain look at his face", Davis replied and Misty looked at Ash's face it's still got an expression of fear and pain.

"Well we need to get him back to a pokemon center of something and fast", Misty said and Davis nodded. Misty looked towards the defenders and watched as Cynthia stepped away moving back towards them.

"So how is he?" Cynthia asked.

"He's alive for now we've found a faint pulse, but we need to get him some medical help and fast", Davis explained and Cynthia nodded at him to confirm she understood.

"Okay get him back to the plane and get him back to the island", Cynthia replied.

"He'll never make it back to the island without some sort of medical help", Dawn added.

"Well we may be in luck, just before the battle began I phoned around and at the moment if they haven't already arrived there should be about four or five Nurse Joys plus the same amount of officer Jenny's as well. I wanted there to be enough people to patch up anyone who got injured plus to apprehend anyone that we caught so that we can question them for any information, but it seems we won't need them here at the temple anymore", Cynthia explained.

"So they should be back at the plane with Brock and the rest of our troops we brought with us", Misty said and Cynthia nodded.

"Misty, Ash is our only hope to win this war. Team Infinta has won this battle, but we can still win the war so get Ash back to the plan make sure he survives and then whne he wakes up get those staff pieces and keystones and wake Lucida", Cynthia said and Misty looked at her it suddenly sinking in the hidden meaning in her words.

"You're not coming with us are you?" Misty asked.

"No we'll stay here to give you a head start if Bellatrix realises that Ash is still alive and that you can save him she'll send Umbra after you and you'll never get off the ground Misty. Misty before you complain everyone here knew the risks when coming here, we knew me might not make it off this island, but we came because that's what our heart told us to do. Misty more than that Ash is the only one who can wake Lucida and I think that's a good enough reason to make our main objective of getting you all off the island and for us to stay and fight. Misty just do me a favour if you ever see anyone from my family tell them I love them and that they were the last thing I thought of", Cynthia replied and Misty nodded. "Dawn, Davis thank you for coming here and helping me try to defend the temple, but now you're place is with Ash and Misty they're going to need all the help they can get to win this war. You were both great and I know you'll be great in the future good luck. Lana, Ash is going to need both yours and your dad's help and I know that between all of you, you can save this world", Cynthia continued.

"Well see each other again I know we will", Dawn replied and Cynthia smiled.

"If you're going to get away and just encase you need to battle Lucario, Pikachu and Charizard need to be at tip top shape so they need to take these", Cynthia said producing three multi coloured tablets from her backpack handing them to Lana.

"What are they?" Misty asked as Pikachu opened his mouth and Lana placed it into his mouth watching as he chewed it letting out a small cry of happiness.

"A powerful last resort healing remedy, it'll give them a massive boost in energy, but it only last so long and when it wears off they'll be close to dropping and they'll need to rest for like a day" Cynthia replied as Lana handed one to Lucario who chucked it into his mouth chewing it before moving onto Charizard who let her chuck it into his mouth.

"Thank you Cynthia for all you've done, Ash always spoke highly of you and now I know why you're amazing", Misty replied and Cynthia nodded.

"Go before it's to late, I'll distract Bellatrix so she won't spot you and the others escaping", Cynthia replied and Misty could of sworn she saw a few tears escape Cynthia's eyes at Misty comment about Ash opinion of her before she ran off in the direction of Bellatrix her pokemon breaking away from the others joining her running towards their enemy.

"Luc, Lucario", Lucario said placing his arms out and Misty looked at him understanding that he was saying it be easier if he carries Ash. Misty, Davis and Dawn lifted Ash off the ground into Lucario arms and he held Ash close to his body like a baby. Misty called back her Starmie and she could see her companions doing the same with their pokemon.

"Misty we're going to have walk the first bit else Bellatrix will spot us, recall Ash's Charizard", Davis explained and Misty nodded.

"Charizard I know I'm not your trainer, but I hope you'll listen to me today because I think I'm going to need your help", Misty said and Charizard nodded extending his claw and Misty took it giving him a small smile shaking it before moving over to Lucario pulling Charizard's ball off Ash's belt calling Charizard back to his pokeball placing his pokeball in her shorts pocket.

"Come on let's go, I'll grab Ash's backpack quickly", Davis said and Misty looked at him rushing over to Ash's discarded backpack a few feet away adding it to his shoulder with his own one. Misty felt something run up her back and a few seconds it reached her shoulder and it stopped and she felt a furry cheek rub up against hers.

Misty turned her slightly smiling at Pikachu giving him a small stroke. "He's going to be alright isn't he Pikachu", Misty asked and Pikachu nodded.

Davis and Lana took the lead and Lucario followed them with Dawn and Misty bringing up the rear, Misty kept looking back to check that they weren't being followed or hadn't been spotted, but between all the battles going on across the whole area no one seems to be paying much attention to them and they soon reached the cave that leads through the mountains to the other side of the island.

"Right as soon as we get through the cave Misty you need to call Brock and find out where they are if they've left the plane get them to head back and if the nurse Joy's are there they need to prep an area for them to treat Ash ready for us to arrive", Davis said and Misty nodded at him as they entered the cave. "Lucario are you alright to carry Ash back to the plane?" Davis added and Lucario nodded. "Good right Lana you come with me on Salamance and Dawn you and Misty can use Charizard", Davis finished and all theee of the girls nodded at him.

They reached the exit of the cave and Lucario took off at high speed leaving Misty and the others behind. Misty pulled out Charizard's ball and she could see Davis calling out his Salamance. Charizard appeared in front of her letting out a large roar, "Charizard I need you to carry me and Dawn back to the plane", Misty explained and Charizard nodded motioning for them to climb on. Misty got on first before helping Dawn climb on, Dawn slipped her arms round Misty's waist and Misty took hold of Charizard's neck as Pikachu slipped off Misty's shoulder and slid down between her and Dawn just as Charizard jumped up into the air quickly followed by Davis's Salamance.

Misty waited for a few minutes to make sure Charizard was in a steady rhythm before letting go his neck pressing her watch turning before saying "Call Brock" into it. The watch started to buzz and she placed one of her hands back on Charizard's neck for support. Brock answered a few buzzes later he appeared as a small hologram out the watch, "Brock where are you?"

"Still at the plane we're about to leave to join you, we ran into a bit of trouble I'll explain when we meet up Misty", Brock answered.

"Brock don't bother, right need you to answer a question for me, has a set of nurse Joys and officer Jenny's turned up?" Misty replied.

"Yeah they arrived just after we landed, why?" Brock asked.

"Brock I need you to do three things for me, one get everyone back on the plane, two tell the pilot to be ready to take off as soon as we get back to the plane and three have an area and a nurse Joy ready to treat Ash as soon as he arrives at the plane", Misty replied.

"Ash is hurt", Brock stuttered.

"Yeah he was trying to protect me and he got injured. Brock we failed Umbra has woken and out of everyone at the temple I think the five of us heading your way will be the only ones who make it off this island of our own free will, everyone else will be dead or prisoner depending on what team Infinta decide to do", Misty explained.

"Okay Misty I'll get everything ready see you soon", Brock replied ending the call.

Misty placed her other hand back on Charizard's neck looking down at the ground spotting Lucario about fifty metres in front of them. "Shit", Misty exclaimed.

"Misty what is it?" Dawn asked.

"I've got to call professor Oak's lab, they've got to evacuate team Infinta will attack it soon, they're going to destroy anyone who can get in their way or help someone get in their way and that's Oak", Misty explained and Dawn nodded.

"You're right, you better do it now", Dawn replied.

Misty let go of Charizard's neck pressing her watch, "Call Professor Oak's lab", Misty said into her watch and once again her watch began to buzz and it was answered a few seconds later.

"Hello Oak's lab, Tracey speaking how can I help?"

"Tracey it's Misty", Misty replied moving the watch so he can see her face on his end.

"Oh hi Misty what's up?" Tracey asked.

"Tracey you need to get out the lab as soon as possible, the Immortals are either awake or waking. Umbra is defiantly awake I've seen him and he's powerful Tracey stronger than anything I've seen before, he's seriously hurt Ash and I'm hoping he can pull through. I'm scared Tracey", Misty explained.

"Oh god Misty calm down don't worry Ash will be fine, thank you for the warning we'll put the escape plan Ash and the professor created in to action. Misty I'm going to have to go so I can send Gary to collect Delia and help the professor pack the last of the stuff up , but I'll call you later I promise and we can work out what we're going to do next. We do have one problem Ash didn't really know how we were supposed to reach the island he was supposed to discuss it with Cynthia, but I guessing her never got the chance. Misty don't worry I'm sure we'll sort it out", Tracey replied and Misty nodded ending the call.

"Right well that's them warned", Misty said and Dawn gave a small nod.

"Well that's good, we're nearly back at the plane as well, Ash will soon be the hands of someone who can help him", Dawn replied and Misty nodded.

"I can't lose him, after all we've been through I think we deserve a bit more time together", Misty said.

"Yeah I agree, right hold on Charizard's about to dive and we don't want to get thrown off", Dawn replied and Misty nodded tightening her grip on Charizard's neck and he felt Dawn's grip on her waist tighten as well.

Charizard's feet hit the ground and Dawn and Misty jumped off running up the steps and onto the plane. Lucario was stood by the entracne to the cockpit, but his arms were now empty, "Misty back here", Brock called and she ran towards the back of the plane followed by Pikachu who jumped onto the top of the seat in front to get a better look at his trainer. Ash was spread across two seat while being held on his side by two nurse Joy's while a third on examined the wounds.

"Misty we need to call Charizard back", Dawn called from the front of the plane and Misty nodded chucking her the pokeball turning her attention back to Ash watching as the nurse Joy started to press strips of cloth to his back. Misty snuck a look down the plane and watched Davis, Dawn and Lana moved into the plane before closing the door behind them. Davis and Dawn took a seat at the front of the plane and Lana moved up the plane obviously looking for her dad and Edward.

"Right we need to stem the bleeding first and then once we're in the air and steady I'll think about attempting to sow those wounds. This would be so much easier back in a medical room, but I know we've got to work with what we've got until we land", the nurse Joy examining Ash's back said and the other two nodded at her. The nurse Joy turned to Misty and continued to talk, "You seem to know what's going on and what happened to him, so I'll ask you this question how long till we'll land next?"

"Well we can only land in one place the island the champions own and that's going to take about twelve hours to reach", Misty replied.

"Twelve hours seriously, we've got two injured people and you're telling me we won't arrive at our destination for another twelve hours" the nurse Joy's all answered together.

"Two?, who else is injured?" Misty asked slightly confused.

"Dad what happened?" Misty heard Lana cry and she looked down the aisle at where Lana was stood and realised for the first time Alan was being treated by a nurse Joy as well. She been so focused on Ash she hadn't seen him on the way up the plane.

"Lana sit down I've got some bad news to tell you", Alan replied and Lana slid down on the inside seat so the nurse Joy could continue to treat Alan.

"Brock what happened?" Misty asked and Brock motioned for her to take a seat on the seats opposite the ones Ash is being treated on. Misty snuck a quick look at Pikachu hadn't moved he was still sat the the top of the seat in front of Ash looking down at his trainer, but he looked slightly worried and upset a little more every second he looked at his trainer.

Misty let Brock take the inside seat and she took the outside one so she could be closer to Ash. "Misty do you know remember when you called I said we ran into a bit of trouble?"

"Yeah", Misty replied.

"Well it was in that little bit of trouble that Alan got injured. So the plane had just landed here and the pilots were going through their final checks before they are going to allow us to get off the plane. Everything seemed fine and then I saw Edward get up out of his seat pick up his backpack and move to the back of the plane. I asked him what he was doing and he said he needed to go to the bathroom so I thought nothing of it and I turned my attention back to thinking about you Ash and everyone else at the temple. Edward was in the bathroom for a good ten minutes and the pilots had just come on sound system to say that they were about to open the doors and we could all get out and start our journey to come and join you guys. As soon as that came across Edward flew out of the bathroom with a knife and rushed past me, but I saw the knife so I got up and went after him. He had gone for Alan and they were struggling to get control of the knife. I tried to help, but Edward swung the knife back at me and I had to jump back on to the seats behind which were actually occupied at the time, but they understood what was going on. The battle between Edward and Alan for the knife continued and in the end Alan drove the knife into his leg which allowed me and the people I had landed onto restrain him", Brock explained.

"Why did he do it?", Misty asked just as Lana let out a large cry from down the plane. The plane started to move off and Misty dove across Brock so she could look out the window and search for any signs that their escape had finally been noticed, but there wasn't anyone there. The plane continued across the island and so they reached the end of it and the wheels left the ground and the plane started to head upwards into the sky and Misty returned to her seat slightly more at ease then she had been before it looks like they've got away. "Sorry about that Brock please continue, I just wanted to make sure we weren't being followed by Team Infinta" Misty explained.

"That's okay it's understandable, okay so back to your question about why did Edward do it. Well I'm glad you mentioned Team Infinta because that's why he did it Misty, he's a member of Team Infinta. He was planted close to Alan and Lana so he could keep an eye on their progress and pass on information to the leaders of the group. Misty since we've met up with him he's been passing on information to them about our plans, the conversation Ash had with the other champions that was passed on and that's why the attack on the temple had to start before we arrived so that they could get the stone before Ash arrived. Ash is the only problem in their large scheme he can stop them by waking Lucida and they can't allow that so they had to get rid of him, he admitted that before he told them about Ash they didn't even know Lucida had chosen a new champion", Brock explained.

"So he's to blame for Ash's condition and all the deaths that are happening back on the island", Misty replied.

"Well that's the strange thing is when we were integrating him for answers and we said his actions will cause so many deaths he replied that Team Infinta plan wasn't to kill anyone just take everyone who stand against them, but to just place them somewhere they can't get in their way like a prison", Brock answered.

"So Cynthia and everyone else back at that temple and the one in Unova might be alright", Misty said and Brock nodded.

"Let's hope so", Brock replied.

"Where is Edward anyway?" Misty asked.

"Oh well we tied him up and put him in the toilet for the moment, I'm supposed to move him once we're airborne so I better go and get him soon just encase anyone needs to use the toilet. Misty there's something else I need to tell you and I'm sorry you're not going to like it, but we did get a few more things out of him before we stuck him in the toilet. He was laughing and boasting because he kept saying that he knew something we didn't and that we had a bigger battle on our hands than we thought. Misty, Edward was just on of the hundreds if not thousands of people placed around the regions to keep an eye on what's going on for Team Infinta. Misty they've infiltrated all the large organisations good and bad including Team Rocket and unfortunately for both of us and I guess Clemont and everyone at his gym the protection agency that the champions asked to protect the gyms", Brock replied.

"Have you tried the three gyms to see if they're alright?" Misty asked.

"Yeah I tried the Pewter City gym, but it didn't even ring it just kept saying the number you are calling has been disconnected over and over again till I hung up. I then tried the Cerulean City gym as well and got the same result no answer. Misty I know neither us want to admit it, but I think that means that our families have been captured by Team Infinta", Brock replied.

"No they can't of been, I'm going to call the gym and my sisters will answer", Misty replied lifting her watch up, "Call Cerulean gym."

"Sorry the number you are calling has been disconnected, sorry the number you are calling has been disconnected", a robotic voice said out of the watch.

"Misty we'll find them, but right now our main priority is making sure that Ash makes it back to the island and get the medical help he needs, once he wakes up I know he'll help us find both of our families", Brock said slipping his arm round Misty pulling her closer to him. " Misty Team Infinta think that all the gym leaders will fight back, but your sisters won't and once they realise that they'll just be put somewhere out of the way and left alone they won't get hurt", Brock continued letting go of Misty again letting her return to her previous position.

"What about our family will they fight back?" Misty asked.

"I don't know, I've got a lot of siblings and I think that my mom and dad would surrender if they think it's best for the family and that no one will get hurt if they surrender", Brock replied and Misty nodded. "We can keep throwing out ideas, but we just don't know what's going on, maybe once we get back to the island they'll of heard something and can tell us more",

"Yeah I guess. What about Clemont, any word from him?" Misty asked.

"No I tried him and Serena, but there's no answer, but unlike the other two it rung for a good thirty seconds before the sorry the number your are calling is unavailable at the moment so there's a chance he's not been captured", Brock answered.

"Well I guess that's something at least, I hope they're alright", Misty replied.

"Me to Misty, right I better go and get that traitor out of the toilet, Misty why don't you go and join Dawn and Davis down the front I don't think you really want to see them stitching Ash's back, back up", Brock replied and Misty nodded looking over at Ash watching as the nurse Joy who had spoke to her earlier started to work on the first one of Ash's deep claw marks in his back.

Misty got up out of her seat taking one last look at Ash before moving down the plane, Misty felt an arm reach out and she stopped looking down at Alan and Lana, "Misty I'm sorry about Ash, it's my fault I brought that traitor along with us", Alan apologised.

"No you weren't to know none of us could of imagined that he was a spy, don't worry just focus on letting that wound in your leg heal and then when both you and Ash are ready to travel again we'll start the fight back against Team Infinta again", Misty replied and Alan nodded letting her continue down the plane.

"Misty", Brock called from behind her and she turned watching as he ran towards her carrying what seems to be Ash's watch communicator. "Misty we're not the only ones who survived the temple attack", Brock continued.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Steven, May and Max didn't go to either temple did they", Brock replied.

"Oh crap how did we forget them?"

"We were shook up with Ash's condition and Edward's betrayal. Max just tried to call Ash's communicator we should call him back and see how they are", Brock said and Misty nodded.

"Let's go join Dawn so she can join the conversation as well", Misty suggested and Brock nodded following Misty down the plane over to Dawn. "Dawn we're not alone. We forgot about Steven, May and Max."

"Oh god have you called them yet?" Dawn asked.

"Max tried to call Ash and now we're going to call him back I thought you like to be part of the conversation", Misty replied and Dawn nodded as Brock pressed Ash's watch calling Max.

"Max are you, May and Steven alright?" Brock asked as soon as Max answered not bothering to lift the watch so that he would appear as a hologram out of Max's watch like Max was on Ash's.

"Brock is that you?, I thought it was Ash calling is he there? Steven just told us he's overheard some member of Team Infinta boasting that the temples have fallen, is everyone alright?"

"Max the temples have fallen and we've lost a large percentage of our force including Cynthia. Ash and Alan has been injured, but me, Misty, Dawn, Davis and Lana are all okay just a bit shaken up", Brock replied showing Max each one of the one by one to show they were okay.

"Oh my god what happened to Ash?" May asked appearing out of the watch.

"Umbra woke up and he tried to attack me, but Ash jumped in front of two different attack to save me from them and Alan got in a fight with him appretince who is actually a member of Team Infinta and Alan ended up getting stabbed in the leg. May please tell me all three of you are okay, I can't lose anyone else today", Misty said taking the watch of Brock aiming it towards her so May could see her.

"Misty we're all fine, we're heading towards Slateport City so we can board a boat Steven's got heading there from the champions island. We know the plan has failed and now we need to regroup and figure out what to do", May replied.

"Is it only you three or have you managed to save some people", Dawn asked and Misty turned the watch so May could see Dawn.

"No we've managed to save Steven's dad and quite a few people from Devon corporation. Our parents are also with us and so is Professor Birch, we asked them to leave the gym and lab as soon as Steven heard that the gyms were in trouble and I'm glad we did we've heard that all the gyms in Hoenn have fallen and i'm sure we'll hear the lab has been destroyed as well soon", May answered.

"Did they have any trouble from the security the champions sent to the gym when they tried to leave", Davis asked and Misty aimed the watch towards him.

"No, but they didn't really tell them they were going, it was last night after the gym had closed and they gone back to the pokemon center for the night and our parents just packed up and left heading towards our agreed meeting point why?" May asked.

"Well it seems that most of the people from that security organisation are actually members of Team Infinta", Davis replied.

"Oh god so all the gyms have let the enemy through their doors without even knowing, that might explain how all the gyms fell so easily the people supposed to be protecting it are actually the ones attacking it", Max cried and he took May's place on the watch again.

"Yeah that what it seems to us as well", Misty replied.

There seem to be a lot of noise on Max's end of the call and it just seemed to be getting louder and slowly more people seemed to be shouting. "Misty I'm going to have to go, Steven wants us to get going again so we aren't discovered I'll call back later" Max said and Misty nodded at him just as the call ended.

"Well at least they are okay and we're not on our own, Steven will know what to do", Misty said and everyone nodded at her.

"Davis why don't you come and sit at the back of the plane with me, you can explain what happened at the temple and Misty and Dawn can keep each other company", Brock suggested and Davis nodded getting up from his seat. Misty sat down in it watching as Brock moved back up the plane with Davis.


	10. A Hellish Nightmare

Ash opened his eyes taking in the scene in front of him, it's so familair he grew up waking up in this room everyday in his childhood, it's his bedroom. Ash tried to remember how he got here, the last thing he remembers is jumping in front of Misty to save her and his shield exploding and then nothing. Can he really have forgotten all that's happened since then.

Ash sat up in the bed and looked up at the massive holes in the roof allowing him to look up into the dark sky above him. Ash kicked off his covers looking down at the clothes he's wearing they're slashed and burned terribly and now there's only a few bits of cloth holding it all together. Ash moved his hands round to his back sliding them down feeling the scars left by Umbra's claws.

Ash swung his legs round to the edge of the bed jumping down landing on the floor. Ash felt it creak and he had to quickly step to his left as the floor he had been stood on gave way and he could now see the floor below him through it.

Ash moved out the bedroom and onto the landing, like his bedroom the roof here is also damaged and Ash can see outside. "Mum, Pikachu are you here?" Ash called as he moved over to the staircase moving down the stairs. Ash reached the bottom of the stairs moving through all of the rooms on the bottom floor calling for his mum in each room, but with no luck. 'Where is everyone?' Ash thought to himself as he moved back into the living room, there's no sign of his mum, Pikachu or any of his other pokemon, there isn't a single pokeball on his belt right now.

"Oak's lab", Ash quickly said out loud to himself rushing over to the door opening it stepping out closing the door behind him getting a good look at the outside of the house. It's massively damaged the roof has like ten holes at different locations and the walls have massive cracks all over them. "What happened here?" Ash said out loud.

"War happened", A female voice said from behind Ash.

Ash turned spotting a tall thin black haired woman stood a few feet away with a massive creature gliding above her. She's giving him the same small smug smile she gave him back on temple island when she ordered Umbra to kill Misty, "You! What are you doing here?" Ash asked starting to shake in fear. He's on his own and the last time he remembers fighting Umbra it took him and six of his strongest pokemon to fight him, Ash doesn't know if he can face him alone. Ash tried to summon a ball of aura in his hand ready to fight back if he needs to, but nothing happened.

"We heard rumours that you had been spotted in the area, so I came to see for myself and what do you know here you are exiting your childhood home, but it's not looking in very good condition is it. Ash you've done well it's been years since we last saw you, you've managed to evade us extremely well, but I guess after a while you've got to face your mistakes. Ash you've come to visit them haven't you, the friends you lost", Bellatrix replied.

"The friends I've lost?" Ash asked confused trying to summon another ball of aura, but like the first time nothing happened. Why can't I summon any aura Ash thought to himself as he tried again and once again no luck.

"Come on follow me, we flew them all back once we had gained complete control of the regions, we always knew that sooner or later you come home and we hoped that you seen the news story we put out about the graveyard we created for the people who stood against us to show that even though they fought against us we respected their bravery", Bellatrix replied motioning for Ash to follow her moving away from the house and through the ruins of Pallet Town.

Ash and Bellatrix continued through Pallet Town with Umbra gliding above them obviously to keep Ash from running away till they reached the land that used to Professor Oak's lab, unlike the houses which still stand in pieces the lab is completely gone there isn't any sign that it used to be there. Bellatrix moved up the stairs and Ash followed her letting out a large cry as he reached the top of the stairs and saw the hundreds of headstones covering the area in front of him. "No it can't be", Ash stuttered as he rushed towards the first set of headstones reading each one, one by one. Misty Waterflower, Brock Harrison, Pikachu, Lucario. Ash moved his gaze to the headstones behind the first set reading the names on them as well, Professor Samuel Oak, Gary Oak, Tracey Sketchit, Delia Ketchum.

Ash moved past them noticing that the graveyard had started to widen as he reached the next set of headstones. Ash looked dwon upon the gravestones of his remaining travel companions, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Clemont, Serena, Bonnie. Ash spotted Davis, Lana, Alan, Cynthia, Steven, Alder, Diantha in the row behind his friends and like Misty's, his mum and Pikachu's gravestones their date of death seems to range from the day Ash last remembers, the day Umbra woke to about four months later.

"You can keep going further into the graveyard and you'll find the rest of your pokemon, all of your friends pokemon and hundreds of people who stood by your side in the battle against us and fell in your name", Bellatrix informed Ash and he turned looking at her.

"They died because of me", Ash replied and Bellatrix nodded.

"Yeah they went into battle believing that you could collect the keystones and staff pieces needed to wake Lucida and when you realised that you couldn't beat us, you ran away and left everyone else to face us. Ash they died believing that you were still searching for the items to awake Lucida, but it reality you had run away and you've continued to run to this day five years after we last saw each other", Bellatrix replied and Ash couldn't look at her so he turned his gaze to the ground. If she's right then he's a giant coward he left his friends to die while he ran away.

"Why did you bury them all here? it must of been easier just to bury them where they died" ,Ash asked continuing to look at the floor.

"We knew you most likely return to the place you called home so we decided to fly all the bodies over here and well we were right and you know the best bit Ash we've finally beaten you it's taken years, but we've done it and it feels amazing. I ordered Umbra to attack your girlfriend because I thought that would beat you if you didn't make it to her in time or killed you id you did, but even though you got in the way you were only injured not killed and once you were healthy again you continued the battle against us", Bellatrix replied.

"What are you going to do with me now?" Ash asked.

"Well to start of with we're going to take you back to our headquarters and then we're going to screen you to the whole world and you're going to tell the small amount of people still battling us to stop and to bow down to Team Infinta or suffer the same fate as you, an execution live on TV for everyone to see", Bellatrix replied letting out a large laugh and Ash looked up at her.

"And if I refuse to tell them to bow down?", Ash asked.

"Well I guess we'll just have to attack them and kill them all like we did you friends, you could save all those people or go to your death knowing that because of your ego more people had to die than was actually necessary", Bellatrix replied.

"And what if I don't want to go with you? , what if I decide to fight you here and now?" Ash asked a new determination flowing into his body, if his friends did die in his name then the only thing he can do is to fight Team Infinta till the end, he can't just let them win.

"Ash..." Ash let a small smile creep into his face he knows that voice, it's Lucida.

"Lucida", Ash called inside his head.

"Ash you can hear me good, I've been trying to contact you for ages. Ash you've got to let go of your fear this isn't real. Ash when you jumped in front of Misty you took Umbra's attack, the attack is called Hellish Nightmare and that exactly what this is, a hellish nightmare. Ash this is happening inside your head and that means you control what happens, all that's happened so far is what you most fear and it's that feat that's driving you at the moment. Ash so now you must let go of that fear and change it into something better so that you have the upper hand I'll help you as much as I can", Lucida replied.

"You think you can beat me and Umbra on your own, I don't think so", Bellatrix replied snapping Ash out of the conversation and back to Bellatrix and the graveyard they're stood in.

"Maybe, maybe not, but you know I think I would like to see how far I can get", Ash replied and he focused on summoning balls of aura in each hand and they appeared growing larger and larger till they were the size of Ash's head. "Oh looks like things seem to be going my way", Ash said firing off both balls summoning another two before the first two hit Umbra knocking him out the sky crashing down into the graveyard destroying at least twenty headstones as he landed.

"Interesting, but you're still alone and I've still got more pokemon to help Umbra", Bellatrix replied pressing all her pokeballs and her Skuntank, Cofagrigus, Ariados, Aggron, Trevenant and her Rapidash appeared in front of her as Umbra jumped back into the air gliding above Bellatrix's pokemon. "Still think you can win Ash, you're alone and I've got my six pokemon plus Umbra, you first attack was a lucky shot", Bellatrix continued.

"Maybe my first attack was a lucky shot, but you're wrong about one thing", Ash replied thinking about what Lucida told him.

"And what's that?" Bellatrix asked.

"I'm not alone, am I guys?" Ash said thinking with all his might that they'll appear. Ash heard the ground shake and six of the graves exploded outwards and Pikachu, Lucario, Charizard, Sceptile, Greninja and Snorlax jumped up out of them landing beside Ash each give him a small smile which he returned. "Seems we're close to even now, shall we see who wins?", Ash continued a large smile covering his face as he looked at the look of confusion mixed with fear on Bellatrix's face.

"How? we killed them. We killed them at the same time as your girlfriend and all your other friends", Bellatrix stuttered taking a step back away from Ash.

"Actually you know, I don't think you killed anyone, I think they're all alive", Ash replied and as soon as he finished all the graves exploded outwards and their occupents climbed out.

"What is going on?, how are you doing this, they should all be dead", Bellatrix said continuing to stutter as she took another step back.

"Well you see this isn't real and it's happening in my head so I control what happens and you know what I don't feel like fighting anymore so I guess you better just go away", Ash replied growing more confident in controlling the dream. Bellatrix started to slid back and all six of her pokemon were dragged back into their pokeballs. Bellatrix flew off her feet flying towards Umbra who caught her. Umbra looked down at Ash and he flicked his wrist and a massive hurricane appeared crashing into Umbra carrying him swiftly away and out of Ash's sight.

Ash looked around the area around him shaking his head, 'no this isn't what Pallet should look like, it should look like this', Ash thought to himself and he closed his eyes visioning Pallet how he remembers and he felt the area around him start to shake and when he opened his eyes he was stood inside Oak's lab all the machines beeping around him with all his friends looking at him from the table in the lab.

"Ash you did well, now that you've beaten the nightmare I can talk to you easier. Ash I need you to come outside there's something I want to speak to you, it'll help you understand my husband and my children and the reason they feel so much anger towards humans", Lucida voice said inside Ash's head and he gave a nod moving past his friends till he reached the door to the pokemon area opening it stepping out looking at the large dragon stood facing him.

"Lucida, Alan's description was no where near as amazing as you are in person, you're beautiful", Ash said and Lucida gave him a small smile.

"Ash you flatter me, right climb aboard we'll go for a little journey. On the way we can talk about a few things and you can ask anything you have on your mind", Lucida replied and Ash nodded climbing on board. As soon as Ash was comfortable Lucida took the air soaring higher and higher and Ash was treated to the amazing scene of the town returned to normal. All the houses have been repaired and the town looks alive and vibrant. "Ash we haven't got long I can feel my connection failing as we speak. It takes less energy to contact you now you're asleep, but it still takes a lot of energy to project my thoughts and appearance into your mind more than I really have. I'm still recovering from the effort it took to project some of my power through you to stop my husband's Hellish Nightmare attack, but don't you worry that's not your fault you did a great job, we just need to discuss something I noticed", Lucida continued as they soared south away from Pallet Town.

"What's that?" Ash asked as they left the safety of land and started to fly over the sea.

"Ash when you were fighting my husband on the island you were only ever using your aura in a defensive manner, yet here in the dream you were quite happy to attack him with your aura, why?" Lucida asked as they glided over Cinnabar Island.

"I don't know, in the dream I knew it wasn't real and no matter what I did he wouldn't... die", Ash replied.

"Ash you can't hold back because he won't, Ash there's no way that you could kill my husband I couldn't do it back when he first attacked the humans. Ash the only thing we can do is weaken him enough that I can turn us all back into stone form and Ash to do that I'm going to need you at your best and not holding back. Ash can you do that for me?"

Ash thought it over for a few minutes before answering, "Yeah I guess you're right."

"Good to hear no lets get down to business, I'm going to tell you something that only me and my family know about now the reason this all started, the reason the peace between the Immortals and the first humans was broken", Lucida replied.

"It's to do with your daughter isn't it, the one that looks like a wolf with wings, the forgotten Immortal", Ash replied.

"Yeah it is I'm impressed Ash, there are only a few people who have worked out that the symbol on the wall of the temple is my daughter the forgotten Immortal, but the one thing no body knows is what happened to her it's been lost over time", Lucida answered.

"What did happen to her?" Ash asked.

"Well I believe your friend Alan told you that an accident started the war well he's right. The accidental death of my daughter Glaciem the immortal of ice that started the war. The humans didn't mean to kill her, one of them threw a spear at her after she startled them by landing near them and gave them a playful roar, they thought she was attacking and so they attacked back and before they knew it she was slain. I met the guy who killed her and he was remorseful he didn't mean to do it and I forgave him he offered his life to me, but I knew it wouldn't bring her back", Lucida replied and Ash could hear in her voice that it was hard to talk about it.

"But Umbra and the others didn't feel like that did they, they wanted revenge not just on him, but on everyone", Ash said and Lucida nodded.

"Yeah they felt the humans did it on purpose and that we would never be safe while the humans still lived."

"How did they react once they realised you sided with the humans?" Ash asked.

"They were angry and they told me that from that moment on I was nothing to them, but I still hold onto the hope that we can be reunited that they'll let go of their anger and just leave with me to somewhere we can live in peace and let the rest of the world live in peace as well, but I know it's a silly dream so I'll fight them again with you in the future and turn them back into their stones and maybe this time it'll be for good", Lucida answered.

"Lucida if we do win I'll promise I'll make sure that the stones are placed somewhere no one can use them again, but I'll put you all together because I think that's where you belong together and maybe your light can show them out of the darkness they seem to be trapped in right now, just like you've helped me escape my nightmare."

"Ash that's so sweet, I know I've made the right choice in choosing you as my champion, right we're nearly there so if there's anything else you need to ask hurry because I think once we land the connection will break", Lucida replied and Ash looked forward watching as a familiar island appeared in the distance and Lucida slowed down slightly.

"Lucida there's just one thing I need to ask you, do you know what happened at the island after I took the attack, have I failed and let Team Infinta take over the world? Is Misty still alive?" Ash asked as Lucida started to descend towards the runway on the island.

"Ash, Misty's alive and waiting for you to wake, she's been waiting for quite a while and I think it's time you return to her don't you. Ash you've not failed and Team Inftina haven't won, yes they've taken anyone at the last two temples prisoner, but a lot of people escaped in different locations around the regions and are ready to head into battle with you again on this island in the real world", Lucida replied as she landed on the runway and Ash slipped off her back moving round to her front so he could see her face.

"Misty's alive", Ash said and Lucida gave him a small nod, "And not everyone was captured", Ash continued and Lucida gave him another nod. "Well I better wake up then, can't leave them all waiting any longer and you know what I'm going to free everyone who has been captured", Ash added and Lucida gave him a small smile.

"Well I guess it's goodbye for now, Ash I'll try and help as much as I can, but before we part ways there just one more thing I need to say. Ash you have many human allies and you if you free everyone you'll have more, but don't forget they aren't your only allies. The pokemon of the world will fight with you all you have to do is ask or call I know there are quite a few pokemon who would happily come to your aid round the regions just ask your friend Lucario for help contacting them", Lucida said and Ash nodded understanding what's she's getting at.

"Goodbye Lucida see you soon", Ash said and Lucida jumped into air disappearing completely. Ash took a deep breath before closing his eyes, "Time to go back", Ash said to himself and he felt everything change. He felt himself fall backwards expecting a hard landing, but it didn't come instead he felt something soft under him and a light blanket covering his whole body except his left hand which someone seems to be holding.

"Oh Ash, please wake up I need you. If I lose you I don't know how I'll cope", Ash heard Misty say and Ash felt his heart skip a beat happy to hear her voice again.

Ash willed his eyes to open and slowly they did and his vision started to clear slowly as his eyes grew accustom to the light again and he realsied he was lying in the bed he and Misty slept in the night they stayed on the island. He turned his head slightly looking at Misty sat by his bed tears sliding out his eyes her head aimed towards the floor. "Misty.." Ash croaked.

Misty's head shot up and her eyes looked in to her and she wiped the tears away, "A...s...h you're awake", Misty stuttered before closing the gap between them pressing her lips to Ash's. "I love you so much Ash, don't you ever scare me like that again", Misty said as she pulled back from Ash taking her seat again and Ash could see that a huge weight seemed to be lifting off her, the look on her face is the exact one he had on his face when the roles were reversed and she was the one who nearly died.

"I love you to, Misty could you get me some water my throat is like a desert", Ash replied and Misty nodded getting up from her chair moving out of the room leaving the door to the office open. He heard the sound of water being poured a few seconds later she returned holding a glass of water. "Help me sit up a bit", Ash asked and Misty nod placing the glass down before helping Ash slide up the bed a bit moving the pillows so they were behind his back now resting on the headboard.

Misty moved the cup to his mouth and Ash opened it letting her tip a little bit of water into it waiting for him to swallow it before tipping some more inside continuing this action till the whole glass was empty. "I've got to go find your mum she'll be overjoyed to hear you're awake and I should really find the nurse Joy who is looking after you to tell her your awake", Misty announced placing the glass on the floor starting to move towards the door.

"My mum's here, her and the others made it here from Pallet", Ash shouted and Misty turned nodding at him. "Where is she?" Ash added.

"Well quite a few of us having been taking it in turns to sit with you so there was someone here when you woke. Your mum was sat with me until about thirty minutes ago until May and Dawn asked if she wanted to get something to eat with them. I said it was fine so she and Pikachu who has been sat with you every minute he can waiting for you to wake up went with them", Misty answered.

"May's here as well", Ash repeated and Misty nodded.

"Yeah, her, Steven and Max managed to avoid Team Infinta and helped to get May's parents, a large amount of people from Devon Corporation plus Professor Birch and a few others as well", Misty explained moving a step closer to the door.

"Where's Brock?" Ash asked.

"He's on a mission with Steven, Max and a few others, they've just left the Sinnoh region and they should be back late tonight. Over the last month we've been sending rescue parties to the different regions to collect people who want to fight Team Infinta plus anyone we feel Team Infinta might try to use against us such as Dawn's mum Johanna that's why Brock went on this mission, a friendly face for her to talk to on the way back", Misty answered.

"What about the rest of our friends?" Ash asked.

"Well everyone who was at the temple in Sinnoh except me, Dawn, Lana and Davis are locked up in the prison Team Infinta with everyone from the temple in Unvoa. Clemont is also locked up in the prison as well, but Serena and Bonnie seem to have escaped from the gym when it was attacked, but we don't know where they are we can't seem to contact them, but we've got people searching for them as we speak so I know we'll find them soon", Misty replied.

"Oh well I'm so glad that some of our friends managed to get back to the island and anyone who didn't will soon be back at the island I'm going to free them them from the prison and I will find Bonnie and Serena as well."

"Well Steven's actually started the ball rolling on breaking everyone out of the prison, but I'll let him tell you himself when he gets back", Misty admitted.

"Misty come back and sit down I need to know a few things before you get Nurse Joy who knows how long she'll want to spend checking me over before we'll get the chance to talk alone again and I want to be up to date with the events that have happened since the Immortals woke so that when Steven arrives he doesn't have to waste time bringing me up to speed", Ash explained and Misty looked at him then the door before giving a small nod moving back to her chair sitting down again. "Misty I need to ask you something before we get into what's happened since the Immortal rose it's important", Ash added.

"Okay what's that?" Misty asked.

"Misty how many days have passed since Umbra and the other Immortals woke, how long have I been out cold?" Ash answered.

"Ash you've been out cold for six weeks."


	11. Six Weeks Explained

"Six weeks, I've been out for six weeks", Ash repeated finding it hard to let the words sink in, he's been out cold for six weeks who knows what Team Infinta has accomplished in that time.

"Ash the Nurse Joys and the doctors we managed to get to the island tried everything the could to wake you up, but in the end they conceded that you were in some sort of deep coma and you would wake up when you were ready there wasn't anything they could give you to wake you up, the injury was mental not physical", Misty explained.

"The water, Misty did they use the water", Ash asked.

"The water from the lake of life", Misty replied and Ash nodded , "No they didn't I was so shook up that it slipped my mind and by the time I found it three days later while I was checking your bag to make sure the keystones and staff pieces were okay and still in it, they had worked on your physical injuries and you were healing. Ash I'm sorry I didn't think it do much help as they kept telling me it was a mental issue that was keeping you asleep. I'm sorry Ash, maybe if you had been given it you would of woken a lot sooner", Misty explained.

"No worries Misty there's no point focusing on the what ifs? Now we must focus on what happens next. Misty to be honest I think you did the right thing as I don't think Celebi was talking about my injury when he warned me I would need it, I think he was talking about someone else", Ash replied.

"You think so", Misty asked and Ash nodded.

"So if I've been asleep for a six weeks, I must of missed quite a bit, I guess we better get started right away so I'm up to date by the time Steven gets back", Ash suggested and Misty nodded.

"Well where do I start I guess I better start with right after you took Umbra's attack. So you landed in my arms and that woman", Misty started.

"Bellatrix", Ash said and Misty nodded.

"Yeah Bellatrix started to gloat about you being dead and I said that if you were I was going to make her pay and she replied that she was going to reunited me and you on the other side. Cynthia stepped in front of me and said that Bellatrix wasn't going to hurt a hair on my head. Bruno turned up not long later with a group of people and they took the fight to Umbra and Bellatrix while we checked you over to make sure you were still with us. When we found a pulse Cynthia ordered us to leave the island and get you back to somewhere that you could be treated as you are the only one who can end this war waking Lucida. So while we were escaping Cynthia and the others were holding them off", Misty continued.

"She fought a losing battle knowing she would be killed or captured because she believes in me, well I won't let her down I'm going to help free her and the others and then we're going to get back to the temples and collect the stones and staff pieces Lucida will rise soon and together we'll stop the Immortals and Team Infinta. So what happened next?" Ash replied.

"Well so we reached the cave that led to the other side of the island and once we reached the other side Lucario who had been carrying you since Cynthia told us to escape rushed off towards the plane on his own, so you could be treated as soon as possible. So while he was rushing you towards the plane where the Nurse Joy Cynthia had called for before the temple was attacked me and Dawn were riding Charizard, while Davis and Lana were riding his Salamance as soon as we took to the sky I called Oak's lab and spoke to Tracey alerting them to the situation and giving them the heads up they needed to vacate the lab before it was destroyed. I won't go into details about what happened back in Kanto with your mum and the others I'll let Gary or someone else bring you up to date with that, I'll focus on what happened once we got back to the plane and what happened since we've been at the island. The story of their escape has many twists and turns and many surprise including a helping hand from Jessie, James and Meowth."

"Team Rocket helped them?" Ash said shock evident in his voice.

"Yeah and they're still helping now. Ash please don't get to worked up, but Jessie, James, Meowth and quite a few former members of Team Rocket are here on the island helping us to fight back against Team Infinta", Misty replied.

"We can't trust them, they'll stab us in the back as soon as they can."

"Ash we can trust them. Ash we were all hesitant to accept their help to start off with, but they've proven to us time and again over the last six weeks that they can be trusted. Ash they haven't got anywhere else to go or to stab us in the back to. Ash they hate Team Infinta as much as we do. Ash, Team Rocket doesn't exist anymore Team Infinta destroyed all their bases and took out all the high ranking members of the organisation including Giovanni", Misty explained.

"I don't know if I can trust them, Misty after everything they've done to me and you over the years", Ash admitted.

"Ash they do have good in them, they've shown us both that over the years. Ash you might not be able to trust them right now, but I need you to let them prove themselves to you, we need their help if we're to free the others and win this war", Misty replied.

"I'll give them a chance to prove themselves to me, but if I see one thing I don't like then that's it", Ash replied.

"That's fine, so back to my story so we reached the plane and the Nurse Joy's got right to work on you, while Brock brought me up to date with the events that happened on the plane", Misty replied.

"Why what happened on the plane", Ash asked.

"Ash do you remember that comment Bellatrix made about having spies all over the regions well we had been travelling with one without even knowing", Misty replied.

"Who?" Ash asked.

"Edward", Misty replied.

"Edward, you mean Lana's Edward", Ash answered.

"Yeah his objective was to get close to Alan so he could keep up to date with anything he found and pass it onto Team Infinta. He passed on all that you said in your conversation with the other champions that why they attacked so suddenly so they could get Umbra's stone before you arrived. He tried to stab Alan so that all the information he found out would be lost, but Alan angled the knife into leg and Brock managed to restrain him", Misty replied.

"Where is he?"

"Me and Brock called the island and explained what had happened and they started work on changing one of the accommodation rooms into a cell. They took everything except the toilet, one of the beds and a table and chair that had been bolted down so he couldn't use them to hurt himself or try and escape. They placed two camera in there as well so we can see what's he's up to at all times. Steven tried to talk to him a few times, but he won't talk to anyone he just sits in the room staring at the wall", Misty explained.

"Maybe he'll talk to me."

"Maybe Ash, I don't know he was really angry when he realised you had survived the attack at the temple. Right back to my story so after Brock told me about Edward your watch went and it was Max. We missed it because I was talking to Lana and Alan and then I moved to join Dawn, while Brock was sorting out Edward. So we called Max back and he told us that they were all alright and that they managed to save quite a few people and we were heading to Slateport to board a boat that would take them out of Hoenn and bring them to the island", Misty replied.

"Did they have any trouble getting out of Hoenn?"

"No not really, Team Infinta hadn't really gained control of Slateport at that moment. Their focus was on the gyms and the lab they dind't really take control of the rest of the region until about two days later so there wasn't anyone really checking to see who was leaving via the port", Misty replied.

"That was a massive mistake it seems, they let one of the two remaining champion slip through their fingers" ,Ash replied

"Indeed it was, the first of quite a few mistakes they've made over the last six weeks. Right back to what was going on here on the island, well while we waited for everyone to get back to the island not much happened and I stayed with you every minute of the day. About four days after the Immortals woke Steven called everyone into conference room to discuss our next steps, we agreed we needed to get as many people as possible to join our cause and to find a way to release everyone from the prison and so far both objectives are going extremely well, our ranks have increased ten fold and we've managed to find a way into the prison."

"How?"

"We've managed to send one of our people into the prison undercover as a member of Team Infinta they've been broadcasting us all the information they can find and we've been using it to finalise our plan", Misty replied.

"When are we going to attack the prison?"

"Day after tomorrow, the rota of prison guards changes every two weeks and the current fortnight is nearly up. The agent we've got inside the prison will set of a communication blocker as soon as we get the word and then we attack and we should be in and out before they can send any more reinforcements to help them", Misty explained.

"Won't they see the planes coming?"

"Ash you need to hear about the escape from Kanto first, just take my word they won't see us coming as we won't be using the planes. Okay on the day Steven called the meeting Team Infinta had started to use their control over the regions to broadcast their messages. They told everyone about how the champions and the gyms leaders had fallen and how they were all now sat in prison cells with everyone else who stood against them on an island on the north border of the Kanto region. They sent a warning to the rest of the world, anyone who stands against them will face the same fate", Misty replied.

"That must of scared quite a few people", Ash said and Misty nodded.

"It did, but it also made quite a few people want to stand up and fight so that they could once again live their lives in peace and not in fear of what Team Infinta is going to do to them. The day after the first broadcasts new ones started to appear as well, they were asking for any information on the locations of me, Brock, Steven, May, Max, their parents, Gary, Professor Oak and Birch, Tracey, your mum and anyone else who had escaped them and then later that day a new one appeared they wanted any information on you and where you might be, they wanted you brought to them dead or alive. Ash you've got a massive bounty on your head", Misty replied.

"How much am I worth?" Ash asked.

"One million", Misty replied.

"Cool", Ash replied and Misty gave him a small smile.

"Well since they didn't get any news on any of us they started to get more and desperate so they placed bounties on all our heads hoping to get some luck, but they're still waiting for anything. We do keep sending them fake tip off like we believe me and Brock has been sighted in Sinnoh region, they send people there and while they're distracted we head to another region and get people out", Misty continued.

"Is that all I've missed", Ash asked.

"Pretty much, right now both sides are just playing cat and mouse with each other, we can't stage a massive fight back against them till we've freed everyone from the prison. We also needed you to wake up so that we can continue the hunt for the items to wake Lucida up. Oh there is one thing I forgot to say Team Infinta turned their attention to the temples that the aura guardians call home", Misty answered.

"Are they all okay? were they captured?"

"They're all okay, Davis alerted them to the fact that they might been next after they destroyed the gyms and it seems he was right, but by the time Team Infinta had reached the temples all over the regions they been vacated and all the aura guardians and their students were on the way to the island", Misty replied.

Ash heard the door close in the study and Misty must of heard it to because she turned to look towards the door as Nurse Joy walked into the room stopping as soon as she saw Ash sat up in the bed awake. "You're awake that's brilliant, I was starting to worry that you might not wake up. Misty I thought we agreed you come and find me if he woke up and I wasn't here."

"Sorry that's my fault Nurse Joy she was coming to find you, but I asked her to hold off so we could talk about everything I've missed in the last six weeks", Ash explained.

"Oh I see, well I guess there's no harm done. Misty could you please step away from the bed so I can do some tests on Ash quickly just to check his complete condition", Nurse Joy asked and Misty nodded.

"Mist why don't you go and tell the others I'm awake I would love to see them", Ash suggested and Misty gave him a small nod closing the gap between them pressing her lips to his softly before pulling back getting up from her chair and moving out of the room. Ash heard the door in the study open and close a few seconds later.

"Well let's just start with a few questions to begin with. How do you feel?"

"Um bit sore and slightly fatigued", Ash replied.

"That's to be expected, give it a day or so you'll be back to your normal self. I would recommend getting up and about as soon as you can get your muscles working again. Okay next question what's the last thing you remember personally before waking up? forget anything Misty's told you."

"Um jumping in front of Misty and summoning a shield to protect before it exploded and then everything went black till I woke up here", Ash replied not sure if he should mention the meeting with Lucida, but even if he did she probably say it was a dream and it doesn't count.

"Okay well that a good sign, sometimes in traumatic events the brain blocks out anything it doesn't want to relive and it can have long lasting effects, but it seems this doesn't apply to you. Right I'm sure Misty will be back with your mum and all your friends in a minute and I know they'll want to speak to you as soon as they can so we'll try and speed this up. Ash I think it'll do you good to get up out of the bed and some of my remaining tests are easier if your not lying down lets disconnect all the tubes and wires from you to begin with", Nurse Joy answered and Ash nodded watching as she started to take the tubes and wires out and off his body turning the machines they were connected to off. "We'll get all these machines out of your room and back into the infirmary in the next few hours so your room is ready for you and Misty to use tonight. I know Misty will be glad to be able to move back in here", Nurse Joy continued as she pulled the last of the wires off Ash pulling back Ash's quilt and Ash looked down at the pyjamas he was wearing and smiled they had little Pikachu's covering them.

"Misty's not been sleeping in here?"

"No, about an hour after we escaped the battle at the temple you started to jerk violently it lasted about an hour and then it stopped, but it kept happening about ten times a day and Misty decided it be best if she moved into the room your mum is staying in", Nurse Joy answered and Ash nodded. "Right lets get you out of this bed, I know we'll move you into the office area it'll make it easier to carry all the stuff out of the room, Ash why don't you see if you can get there yourself, I'll be next to you if your body isn't yet up to it yet", Nurse Joy continued and Ash nodded moving his legs to the edge of the bed sliding slightly till they reached the floor. Ash waited a few seconds before slowly lifting himself up bit by bit to make sure that his legs would hold till he was stood up with nothing to support him. Ash moved his left foot placing it down before moving his right foot, Ash started to stumble and he saw Nurse Joy rush forward, but he waved her off, "I'm fine", Ash said as he placed his foot down again getting steady before moving off again.

It took a few minutes, but finally Ash stepped into the office moving over to his desk pulling the chair out sliding down onto it. Nurse Joy moved in front of Ash smiling, "That was very good Ash, you're weeks in the coma don't seem to have effected your body very much and I know once you get moving a bit more you'll be back to normal, right lets me just check some of your reflexes and a few other things right to start of with I just want you to follow my fingers with your eyes", Nurse Joy said and Ash nodded as she moved her finger to his eye line and started to move it side to side. Ash followed its every movement and after a while Nurse Joy moved her finger back down. "That's great Ash, I see no damage to the muscles in your eyes, right on to the next test."

Nurse Joy continued to run different tests on Ash till the door opened and Misty walked back in quickly followed by Pikachu Delia, May, Dawn and Gary. Nurse Joy stepped back away from Ash, "I'll go and start packing up the machines in the bedroom give you all some space", Nurse Joy said and Ash gave her a small nod watching as she moved into the bedroom and out of sight.

Pikachu raced past everyone jumping up onto Ash's lap jumping onto Ash's shoulder rubbing his head against Ash's. "Hello buddy it's good to see you to", Ash said as Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's lab sitting down letting Ash stroke him.

"Ash you're awake", Delia cried as she rushed across the room wrapping her arms round Ash's neck. "I've been so worried about you Ash."

"I'm sorry mum", Ash whispered.

"Don't be silly it's not your fault. Misty told me what happened you were protecting her, Ash I'm so proud of you", Delia replied taking her arms away from Ash's neck stepping back a few steps joining Misty and the others again.

"Ash it's good to see you out of that bed finally, like your mum we've all be worried about you", May said and Ash gave her a small smile.

"I'm glad to be out of that bed as well, but not as glad as I am to find out that you and Max managed to get to the island, but not just that you managed to smuggle a few people out with you as well. May you and Max are like a brother and sister to me and I couldn't face it if I lost you", Ash replied.

"Ash, me and Max feel the same and he'll tell you that when him and Brock arrive back from their mission. Ash how are you feeling?" May answered.

"You know bit sore, but I'll be back to my old self in no time nothing keeps me down for long you know that May", Ash replied and May nodded letting out a small laugh before giving Ash a massive smile. Ash turned his gaze to Dawn who gave him a small. "Dawn how are you?"

"I'm fine now Ash, I've been a bit worried recently about my mum, but I don't know if Misty got the chance to tell you, but Brock and Max are bringing her to the island at this exact moment", Dawn answered.

"Misty did tell me and I'm glad that you'll soon be reunited Dawn", Ash replied.

"Me too Ash", Dawn answered.

Ash turned his gaze to his final visitor receiving a massive smile from Gary, "Ash you know you really do get yourself in some massive trouble don't you", Gary said and Ash gave him a small nod, "Well we wouldn't have you any other way", Gary continued.

"Gary thanks for getting my mum here safely", Ash said and Gary gave him a small nod.

"No worries Ash, most of the thanks has to go to Team Rocket really we would of never of got here if it wasn't for them", Gary replied.

"Yeah I wanted to talk to you about that little bit of information", Ash admitted.

"Ash I know what you're going to say and I wasn't sure of we could trust them when they turned up either, but they helped us out when we were attacked by Team Infinta ask you mum and they got us to the island and since then they've done nothing, but help us. Ash I know we've got history with them, but that history died the day the Immortals rose and Team Rocket was disbanded after the death of Giovanni and the other heads of the organisation", Gary explained.

"Gary you honestly trust them?" Ash asked.

"I do and Ash how about this you come with me to pokemon habitat area and I'll explain everything that happened from the moment we received Misty's call after you were injured to the moment we landed on this island with what used to be Team Rocket", Gary suggested and Ash nodded.

"Why do you want me to come with you to the pokemon habitat? Why can't you just tell me what happened now while I'm sat in this chair", Ash asked.

"Because there's a few old friends waiting there that I know want to see you and I know you'll be happy to see them to, it's been years since you last saw them", Gary replied and Ash's interests were peaked.

"Who?"

"Don't want to ruin the surprise follow me and you'll see", Gary replied and Ash nodded letting Pikachu jump on to his shoulder before getting up getting his balance before moving off slowly. Ash felt Misty's hand slip into his and he gave it a small squeeze using her to help stay balanced as they stepped out of the room after Gary.

Delia, May and Dawn came out after them starting their own conversation behind Ash, Misty and Gary as Gary started his story.


	12. Escape From Pallet Town

_**This Chapter and the next one was supposed to be one chapter, but due to the length it became even before I had finished writing it, I've decided to post it as two chapters so it's easier to read, the fourteenth chapter will continue on with current events at the island. including Brock's and Max's return to the island**_

* * *

6 Weeks Earlier in the Kanto Region

Ring ring, ring ring, "I'll get it", Tracey said and both Professor Oak and Gary nodded at him watching as he got up from the table they had all been sat at.

"So Gary have you had anymore ideas about where you're going to take your studies next?" Professor Oak asked.

"Gramps I don't know really, haven't really thought about where I'm thinking of heading next I just thought since I've been away a lot recently I would be nice to stick around here for a bit longer and well we might all have to leave here soon", Gary said and Professor Oak nodded at him.

"Gary, Professor that was Misty", Tracey shouted as he raced into the room.

"What's happened?", Gary asked jumping up from the table as Tracey stopped in front of them.

"Ash has been injured and the Immortals are waking we've got to get out of here as soon as possible Team Infinta is on the way", Tracey explained and Professor Oak got up from the table.

"Gary go and get Delia pack everything into your car, we'll move anything bulky into the truck when you get back, me and Tracey will work on getting everything out of the lab", Professor Oak said and Gary nodded rushing off out the room through the lab till he reached the front door.

Gary stepped out the lab moving down the steps till he reached the bottom looking at the three vehicles parked side by side in front of him. His car is parked on the right, Oak's car is parked on the left and in the middle of them is the van that Professor Oak purchased as soon as Ash phoned him to explain the plan and how Team Infinta plans to attack the lab as soon as they wake the Immortals. Gary moved over to his car unlocking it before sliding into the driver seat sliding the car into the ignition starting the car up placing it in reverse before pressing his foot to the peddle slowly edging back turning the steering wheel till he was facing the right way changing gear moving down the road.

It only took a few minutes for Gary to reach Ash's house and he jumped out the car opening all the door plus the trunk moving to the door knocking on it three times. Delia opened the door a few seconds later looking out, "Oh hi Gary what's up?"

"Delia we've got to go, Misty called the Immortals have woken and Team Infinta are heading this way", Gary replied.

"Oh god we'll better get a move on, I've packed up quite a bit, but there's still quite a bit to go, I better call Mr Mime back to his pokeball as well", Delia said.

"No worries, me and you can pack up the rest of the stuff while my pokemon pack everything into the car", Gary replied and Delia nodded as he called out his Alakazam, Blastoise, Scizor and Electivire. "Right I want you two", pointing to Alakazam and Electivire, "To move round the house collecting the boxes that are finished, while you and you", Gary continued pointing to his Scizor and Blastoise "To pack all the boxes they bring out into the car as tightly as you can. We haven't got much time so time is of the essence", Gary finished and his pokemon nodded at him before moving into positions that Gary had said to them.

"Gary you said Misty called you, I did she say anything about what happened at the temple", Delia asked.

"Well Tracey took the call so you should ask him for the full details, but I do know the basics and I'm sorry but it's not good news. Delia Ash has been injured", Gary answered.

"How bad?" ,Delia asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds bad", Gary answered.

"Oh my god my baby boy, I should never of let him get involved in all this Immortal business, look what's gone and happened now", Delia cried and Gary moved closer to her pulling into a hug.

"Delia this is Ash we're talking about and he's tougher than anyone else I know. Delia I know Misty will look after him till we meet up with them she'll get him the best medical help she can find. Delia we've got to get everything packed up as soon as possible we don't know how long we've got I promise as soon as we're out of Pallet and on the road we'll call Misty for an update on Ash", Gary said and Delia nodded.

"You're right Gary, I know Ash would want me to put my worries about him to one side for the moment so that we can get out of here and avoid Team Infinta", Delia said and Gary let her go. "Gary why don't you pack away the items from the living room and I'll finish my bedroom and then grab anything from the kitchen that I can't leave behind", Delia suggested and Gary nodded moving past the sofa starting to take items off shelves wrapping them in protective wrap before placing them in the boxes that professor Oak had dropped round to the house the day before.

Gary could hear Delia and his pokemon moving round the house, but he stayed focused not letting his attention travel as he packed box after box of items placing them by the door so his pokemon could place them in his car. The next time Gary took a moment to breath he noticed that he been in the house for an hour and a half and the living room looked empty.

"Ah Gary it looks like everything important is packed up, we better just place the last of the stuff in the car and get back to the lab to join up with your gramps and Tracey."

"Yeah looks like it Delia, I snuck a look out a few minutes and the car is looking very full, I think we'll have to place the last of the stuff in the passenger side, are you okay with driving my car back to the lab and I'll ride my Dodrio back to the lab", Gary replied and Delia moved to the door looking out getting a look at the car herself.

"Yeah you're right we're going to have to place it in the passenger seat, yeah I'm fine with driving your car back to the lab, off you go Gary I just want to take one last look around the house quickly to make sure I've not missed anything and say goodbye to the house I guess", Delia informed Gary who nodded understanding how she must feel right now, even though he's spent so much time travelling he still thinks of Pallet as his home and he's finding it hard knowing that he's leaving Pallet again, but this time he might not be coming back and if he does make it back Pallet might never be the same Pallet he grew up in.

Gary moved out of the house watching as his pokemon placed the last box into the passenger seat before closing the door, Gary called back all four of his pokemon to their pokeballs before pulling a new one of his belt calling out his Dodrio. Gary climbed up onto Dodrio's back, Gary got himself comfortable and secure before tapping his pokemon's side who knew without Gary telling him it was time to go. Dodrio sped off running down the road and Gary turned watching as Delia's house got smaller and smaller by the second.

Gary and Dodrio arrived back at the lab a few minutes later and Gary could see that Tracey and professor Oak had been busy, the car was full and the van was three quarters full. "Gary ah you're here could you help me carry the next item out it's quite heavy", Tracey called as he approached the van sliding a box into van pushing it up tightly against another box.

"Sure Tracey, return Dodrio", Gary replied calling back his pokemon following Tracey up the steps and through the door into the lab.

"How's Delia?", Professor Oak asked as Gary and Tracey moved into the main lab.

"Oh slightly upset that she's got to leave the house and she's worried about Ash, but I promised that we would call Misty later to get an update. Tracey I think she'll want to talk to you as well so she can hear everything Misty said to you. Delia's is probably on the way by now she just wanted a few moments alone to take one last look round the house before she drives over here in my car", Gary replied.

"That's fine, me and the professor think that for space reasons she should travel with me in the van while the front seats of the two car as used to fit more stuff into the car. We're going to keep in contact at all times just encase we have to scatter if we're spotted", Tracey explained.

"Sounds good", Gary answered taking his side of the next box watching as Tracey took his side, they picked it up from the floor together moving slowly through the lab till they reached the door where they met Delia.

"Delia, the professor's in the lab why don't you go and see if there's anything you can do to help him collect the rest of items in the lab", Tracey said.

"Will do, Gary told me you were the one who took the call from Misty", Delia answered.

"I did and I promise you I'll tell you everything while we're driving, me and you are travelling in the can together", Tracey replied and Delia nodded at him letting them move past her before moving through the door. Gary and Tracey stepped slowly down each step fighting to keep control and grip on the box till they reached the bottom moving over to the van sliding it into the van next to the box Tracey brought out earlier when Gary arrived back at the lab.

"Gary let's move some of the bigger boxes from your car into the van so that there's more room and so that you can see out the back of the car", Tracey suggested and Gary nodded moving to the back of the car opening the trunk taking out some smaller boxes so he could reach the big boxes handing one of them to Tracey before pulling out another one for himself moving after Tracey letting him slid his box into the van before sliding his one in after. Gary moved back to the car pulling out another box moving back to the van sliding it in as well turning round watching Tracey placing the smaller boxes back into the trunk, Gary moved to the passenger side pulling out one of the boxes moving round to trunk sliding it closing the trunk following Tracey back up the steps into the lab.

Tracey and Gary found the professor and Delia sat at the table in the main lab, "Is that everything?" Gary asked.

"Everything of importance everything else we'll have to leave, I wish I could take more, but we've not got the room or time to disable it and place it on the van. Gary I kept this out because I thought you might want them if we meet any trouble on the way", Professor Oak replied leaning down lifting a case of the floor sliding it across the table to Gary. Gary unclipped the case opening it up looking at the collection of pokeballs sat inside.

"Thanks gramps", Gary replied closing the case again locking it again, "Well if that's everything we should really get going", Gary continued and everyone nodded at him. Professor Oak and Delia rose from their chairs and they moved off as a group through the lab taking one last look at everything before they reached the door. Professor Oak took one last look inside the lab before closing the door locking it moving off down the steps.

Gary slid into the driver side of his car placing the case holding his Pokémon's pokeballs on the box sat on the passenger seat, Gary looked in his mirrors watching as professor Oak slipped into his car and Tracey and Delia jumping into the front of the van. Gary's phone started to ring and he slid it out of his pocket sitting it on top of the box holding his pokemon pressing the accept button, "Okay that's the communication up and going, let's head off", Professor Oak's voice said out of the phone.

"Sounds good", Gary replied and he heard Delia and Tracey say the same thing a second later. Gary started up the engine watching as professor Oak moved off. Tracey moved off next and Gary brought up the rear moving away from the lab and through Pallet.

Gary's trio of vehicles managed to make it out of Pallet without any problem, they didn't see any sign of trouble till they were half way between Pallet and Viridian. They spotted a group of cars parked on the opposite side of the road to them about a half a mile ahead. "Okay everyone act natural and hopefully they'll drive past without any problems", Professor Oak called across the phones and Gary nodded even though he knew the other couldn't see him nodding.

They were nearly next to them before the cars did anything, the doors of every car opened and men and woman jumped moving into the road putting their hands up forcing them to stop. Gary watched as the men and woman moved to each window of each vehicle looking inside. "Hi can I help you?", Gary asked.

"Yes you can, you can step out the car for me?" the man stood by his door said.

"Can I ask who you are?" Gary asked not making any signs of getting out.

"Oh I think you know who we are Gary Oak, I'm sure you friend Ash Ketchum told you all about us, but lets pretend you don't know us yet, my name is Vadia and we're Team Infinta, Soon we'll be the controlling force over all the regions and to do that we need to take out anyone who can stop us and that includes you and the rest of your group. We were heading towards the lab when we heard from one of our fellow members who lives in Pallet that you were planning on leaving so we decided that we let you pack up and head out of Pallet and we stop you here on the road out of everyone's sight, no need to spook anyone just yet we'll show ourselves to the rest of the world when everything is in place", Vadia answered and Gary nodded sliding out the car sliding his hand to his belt pulling off Electivire's pokeball pressing the center button calling him out.

Electivire appeared beside Gary and he smiled as he watched Tracey send out his Marill which was soon joined by his gramp's Dragonite. "Well sorry, but we're not coming quietly, Electivire use Discharge to force all the members of Team Infinta away from the vehicles", Gary cried and his pokemon fired off his attack and all the members of Team Infinta's had to jump out of the way to avoid it. Gary turned watching as Professor Oak and Tracey jumped out of their respective vehicles, Gary could see Tracey telling Delia to stay in the van as he closed the van's door.

Vadia was the first up and he pulled out two pokeballs from his pocket chucking them into the air calling out his pokemon Golem and Skarmory, "Oh so you want to fight do you, well lets fight, Golem use Bulldoze and Skarmory use Steel Wing." Skarmory and Golem obeyed their trainer beginning their attacks heading towards Electivire.

"Dragonite get in front of Electivire and use flamethrower on Skarmory", Professor Oak called and Dragonite jumped in front of Electivire firing off a powerful flamethrower that covered the whole of Skarmory's body stopping him mid-flight. Gary could see Skarmory fighting to get going against, but soon he dropped out the sky crashing into the ground out cold.

"Marill use Hydro Pump on Golem", Tracey added and Marill fired off a powerful Hydro pump at Golem stopping him completely.

"Thanks for the help guys let me finish this, Electivire finish Golem off with an Iron Tail", Gary shouted and Electivire jumped past Dragonite closing the gap between him and Golem smashing an Iron Tail into the stationary pokemon.

"Oh well done, you managed to beat me by ganging up lets see how things go when we even up the odds shall we", Vadia shouted as he called back his pokemon and three different members of Team Infinta called out a pokemon each. An Electrode, Garchomp and a Rampardos appeared in front of the three trainers. "I don't know why you're bothering to fight us you've got no chance of beating us in the long run, we've taken out the one person who can stop us", Vadia continued.

"Ash", Gary said and Vadia nodded.

"Yeah Ash Ketchum was taken out by Umbra on the island that it used to call it's home, he died saving the girl he loves and now victory is ours", Vadia replied and Gary started to smile before letting out a small chuckle escape his lips. "What's so funny?" Vadia asked.

"Well it's just that everything you've said there is pretty much wrong, yes I admit Umbra attacked Ash on the island he used to call his home and yes Ash probably did jump in front of Misty that's the sort of thing he would probably do to protect her, but he's not dead and Victory isn't yours just yet and it never will be", Gary answered.

"How do you know he's not dead?" Vadia asked.

"Well because I've spoken to Misty and she told me that she managed to get Ash away from the temple and that he was alive and that she's taking him back to our meeting place so he can be treated", Gary replied being careful not to give any important details away.

"So he is alive, well he won't be soon we'll find him and the others thanks to our handy little spy who is travelling with them on the plane, I bet they don't even know he's not on their side, but enough of Ash's future lets talk about yours. You're going to be spending the rest of your years in a nice cushy prison that we're soon to take over, the force we sent there should soon have full control", Vadia said.

"You know I don't really think I want to spend the rest of my time in prison, what do you think guys?" Gary replied looking at gramps and Tracey the comment about the spy on the plane circling his head, if there is a spy on the plane the island might not be safe anymore.

"No I don't want to do that either I guess we're just going to have to beat you and make our escape aren't we", Tracey answered and Gary nodded at him.

"Good idea, Electivire use Iron Tail again", Gary cried and he heard Tracey and his gramps call out attacks as well. Tracey's Marill's Hydro Pump crashed into Rampardos and professor Oak's Dragonite's Twister crashed into Garchomp knocking them back into their trainers causing them to tip back together crashing down to the ground.

Gary's Electivire crossed the gap between him and Electrode jumping into the air sending his tail crashing down, but Electrode rolled out the way before the attack hit and Electrivire's tail crashed into the ground causing small fragments of earth to fly up hitting it forcing it to it's knees as the fragments ended.

"Electrode take out the Marill with Charge Beam, let's even the odds", Electrode's trainer called and Electrode fired off a beam of electric at Marill.

"Marill dodge it and then use Play Rough", Tracey cried and his Marill jumped out the way tucking itself into a ball as it hit the ground again rolling to minimize the damage jumping back to it's feet closing the gap between it and Electrode crashing into it hitting it several times before jumping back away from it again.

"Electivire, Iron Tail", Gary cried, but yet again Electrode rolled out of the way at the last second and more fragments hit Electivire forcing it to it's knees again.

"Gary leave this to me, I'll beat him", Tracey said and Gary nodded at him. "Marill Hydro Pump", Tracey continued.

"Electrode Electro Ball", the Team Infinta member counter and the two attacks met in the middle of the space between them. They seemed pretty equal, but slowly Gary could see the Electro Ball's type advantage coming into the play, Marill's Hydro Pump was weakening.

"Marill put all your power into that attack", Tracey shouted and the Hydro Pump intensified pushing the Electro Ball back towards Electrode. The Electro Ball exploded and Gary watched as the explosion caused a fine cloud of dust to appear between his group and Team Infinta blocking them from each other's sight.

"Oh my god no way", Tracey cried and Gary turned looking at his friend looking towards the area Tracey is focused on spotting Marill starting to shine brighter and brighter till Gary couldn't see Marill anymore. The shine continued for a few more seconds before disappearing completely and an Azumarill stood in Marill's place. "He's evolved, my Marill's evolved", Tracey stuttered.

"Well let's show them his new strength shall we?" Gary suggested and Tracey nodded at him as the dust cloud disappeared and both sides could see the other again.

"Azumarill use play rough, guys get ready to go", Tracey called and professor Oak and Gary nodded as Azumarill covered the ground between him and Electrode in two steps crashing into Electrode smashing his fists into Electrode faster than Gary's eyes could follow.

"Dragonite return", Professor Oak called and his pokemon returned to his pokeball.

"Electivire give us some cover, use Thunder on the ground", Gary cried and Electivire obeyed sending a powerful bolt of thunder into the crack causing the ground to shake and sending the members of Team Infinta including Vadia flying back onto their back out cold. "That won't keep them down for long we've got to get going return Electivire", Gary said calling back his pokemon and he could hear Tracey calling back his Azumarill as well. Gary jumped back into his car and he could see Tracey and his gramps doing the same thing, within ten seconds they were off again leaving the devastation of their battle behind them.

"Well that was close we've got to make sure we're not spotted by anymore members, we've got to find somewhere to hide out till we hear from Misty and discuss how we're going to get out of the Kanto region", Tracey admitted.

"Normally I would say we should head to Indigo Plateau, but that probably won't be a good idea, by the time we get there who knows if Team Infinta will be waiting for us. Now that they know we're trying to escape they'll have people waiting for us at every exit from the region including Indigo Plateau and Vermillion City docks. I would say our best bet would be to head into Viridian City and park there out of sight from the air and hard to see hidden in the trees while we wait to hear from Misty", Gary answered.

"Sounds like a great idea Gary, right lets head towards the forest it'll give us cover and time to think", Tracey answered.

"Let's go, guys do you think Vadia was telling the truth? do you think there's a spy on the plane?", Gary asked as they continued down the road increasing the gap between them and Vadia.

"I don't know, we should call Misty and give her the heads up just encase he was telling the truth, Gary I'll call her and add her to the conversation so we can all hear her", Professor Oak answered.

"Please I want to make sure that they are okay and that we're not being betrayed by someone we think we can trust gramps", Gary replied.

"Me too Gary, right bear with me I'm just going to call her", Professor Oak replied and Gary waited his palms starting to sweat as each second passed without Misty answering. Thoughts of what if it's to late, what if the spy has already forced the plane to land somewhere so that they can be captured, but after what felt an eternity Misty answered.

"Hello Professor Oak, have you made it out of Pallet okay?", Misty's voice asked echoing out of the phone.

"Hi Misty yes we have and we're on the road heading towards Viridian City. I've added you to the communication line we've already got set up between the three vehicles. Gary, Tracey and Delia can hear you as well and I know they want to know everyone is okay. Misty we've just had a run in with some members of Team Infinta and they've told us there's a spy on the plane", Professor Oak replied explaining what they heard.

"Ah there is, his name is Edward he's Lana's boyfriend, but don't worry he's been neutralised. He tried to attack Alan with a knife, but Brock managed to subdue him, Alan had to plunge the knife into his leg to allow Brock to stop him, but he's okay", Misty explained.

"That's good news I was worried that you were in trouble and that you would get back to the island and be attacked not long after once the spy leaked your location", Gary said.

"No worries Gary, they won't find us. I'm sure you all want an update on Ash's condition espically you Delia well it's good news sort of. The Nurse Joys seemed to have stopped the bleeding and for now he seems to be okay. He's out cold, nut he seems to be more at peace than he was when we got back to the plane. We've called ahead and they're getting medical supplies ready so they can stitch the wound up other than that there's not much more I can tell you on Ash so I'll move onto an update on our situation. After I spoke to Tracey last we heard from Max and May they are okay and they're making their escape from the Hoenn region as we speak, now an update on the plane I'm in we're due to leave the borders of the Sinnoh region within the hour. Other than Alan everyone else is okay and Edward won't be helping Team Infinta anymore we've asked the people at the island to sort out a cell of some sort for him so that we can question him again when we've got time", Misty replied.

"All of that is great news, do we have any new ideas on how we're supposed to get out of Kanto?", Tracey asked.

"Well when I called the island I asked them if they could send anyone to extract you, but they said that all the planes are away from the island, they're on their way back as soon as the temples fell they called back the planes in the other regions, but they won't be back for a good ten to twelve hours and then it'll take another few hours to get to you. As soon as one is back they'll send it to get you guy", Misty answered.

"We've just go to hope that there's somewhere for them to land by that time, they know we're trying to escape and if I was them I would be placing members at every exit option ready to stop us when arrive", Gary stated.

"Yeah, but don't worry Gary we'll find someway to get you out of there, I know Steven will have an idea on that I'll ask him when we meet up, I better go now I want to go sit with Ash for a bit ", Misty replied.

"No worries Misty, we'll call you again later to give and get an update on what's happening on each end", Professor Oak answered.

"Talk to you again soon guys look after yourselves", Misty replied and Gary heard the sound to say she had left the conversation.

"Well at least they're all okay, right we're coming up on Viridian City we better be alert we never know what's going to happen, they might be waiting", Tracey stated.

"Correct Tracey, right lets not try to draw any attention to ourselves we might be able to get through the city without any problems", Professor Oak replied as they reached the entrance to Viridan City.

They didn't even make it to Viridian City without being spotted, what chance have they got of making it out of Kanto without being captured.


	13. Escape From Kanto

Gary's trio of vehicles didn't have any problems while driving through the entrance and in the centre of Viridian City, it wasn't till they reached the exit that they found a road block waiting for them, they slowed down coming to a stop as two men moved from the road block to professor Oak's car starting to speak to him. Gary and the others could hear them in their vehicles thanks to the phones, "Hello Professor Oak, did you really think that you be able to make it through Viridian without any problems from us, you may of escaped our first attack, but you won't escape this one please step out of the car for me."

"Um sorry but no, Dragonite out you come", Gary heard his gramps reply and he looked out the window watching as Dragonite appeared beside the car. "Dragonite destroy the road block", Professor Oak continued and Gary watched as the road block was sent flying into the air coming crashing down one hundred metres outside of the city. "Return Dragonite, right everyone floor it", professor Oak shouted and Gary smashed his foot on the pedal zooming after his gramps and Tracey.

"Get after them", Gary heard someone shout as he raced past the remains of the road block. Gary kept a look in the side mirrors as he continued spotting a group of three cars starting to burst out of the city as the city was finally lost from view.

The cars were making ground on them, they weren't weighed down by all the boxes that Gary and the others have in their vehicles. "They're catching up", Gary informed the others.

"I know, we need to get to the forest we might be able to lose them in there", Professor Oak replied.

By the time the treeline of the forest came into view the cars had closed the gap by nearly three quarters and we gaining fast, Gary could see that his gramps and Tracey were trying to speed up, but they were already at full speed and the vehicles just couldn't give anymore. They travelled another mile before the car roared past skidding in front of them causing them to brake massively. Gary heard his tyres scream as he battled to control the car as his speed dipped. All three vehicles came to stop and the doors of the car holding Team Infinta opened and five men jumped out of the car pulling pokeballs of their belt releasing two pokemon each. Gary looked at each one in turn, there was a Machamp, Sandslash, Honchkrow, Ariados, Shiftry, Aggron, Houndoom, Mismagius, Musharna and a Aegislash.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight", Gary and he got his answer as the doors of the van and Oak's car opened and everyone jumped out. Gary grabbed the metal case opening it pulling out two pokeballs placing a different one back in the case before opening the car door jumping out.

"Thought you could get away, well I do have to give you props you did get quite far before we caught you, we never expected you to get out of Pallet really, but it seems you're really resourceful, but it ends now, you can come quietly or we'll beat all your pokemon and take you the hard way", one of the men said.

Gary chucked the two pokeballs he took out the case into the air releasing his Arcanine and Umbreon, they were soon joined by his Electivire, Scizor, Alakazam, Blastoise. "Seems like its going to have to be the hard way", Gary said and he saw the men give a small smile.

"Well have it your way, everyone attack", the man shouted.

Dragonite, Rotom, Mr Mime and Azumarill appeared next to Gary's pokemon to even up the odds, Gary moved to stand with the others watching before ordering attack, "Electivire use Thunderbolt, Scizor Metal Claw, Alakazam Shadow Ball, Blastoise Hydro Pump, Arcanine Flamethrower and Umbreon Shadow Ball."

"Dragonite, Flamethrower", Professor Oak added.

"Azumarill, Hydro Pump", Tracey continued.

"Mr Mime, Psychic", Delia cried and all the attacks crashed into the ones that the pokemon Team Infinta's pokemon fired. Blastoise, Electivire and Alakazam's attack destroyed the attacks they hit continuing through the sky crashing into the Aggron, Aegislash and Shiftry, but they didn't do much damage the pokemon were pushed back a step, but they soon returned to their earlier position. The rest of the attacks battled against each other, but couldn't get through causing a large explosion that sent a massive shockwave emanating out of the center. Gary felt the shockwave hit his body and he stumbled fighting to say on his feet. The shockwave travelling in the opposite continued on crashing into the trees at the beginning of the forest. The trees shock and Gary watched as a large amount of bird type pokemon jumped out of the trees and into the sky.

Gary heard an engine approaching behind him and he turned taking his attention away from the birds soaring towards them. Gary smiled as it he saw it was an officer Jenny and his smile got bigger as she stopped and he saw the pokemon who were sat in the sidecar a group of Squirtles each wearing sunglasses. Officer Jenny slid off the bike and the Squirtles jumped out of the side car racing towards Gary and the others with Officer Jenny behind them.

The Squirtles raced past Gary and he turned back round watching the bird pokemon dive towards the pokemon belonging to Team Infinta. Now that they're closer Gary recognises them, they are a flock of Pidgeotto and Pidgey, but there seems to be a Pidgeot leading them. Officer Jenny reached Gary and the others and she stopped looking at them, "Oh I know you all, you're Gary Oak, Tracey, Professor Oak and you're um Delia you're all friends of Ash Ketchum."

"Yeah and you're the officer Jenny that leads the Squirtle squad so that means that one of those Squirtles is the one Ash used to own. Guys keep up the battle don't let them win", Gary replied looking at Jenny before turning to his pokemon giving them encouragement.

"Yeah he's still the leader, we were actually coming to Pallet to see if Ash was around, we've got a bit of time off and Squirtle wanted to see him. We heard there some ruckus happening in the area and we thought we have a look to see what's going on first", Officer Jenny answered and Gary turned back to face her.

"Well he's not around right now, but we are going to meet up with him we've just got to get away from the people who we're battling. They are part of an evil organisation called Team Infinta who wants to take over the regions and because they think we'll get in their way they want to subdue us and take us to a prison they are meant to have got control over. It's a long story and if I had time I would love to explain in, maybe you should come with us because something tells me the emergency forces will soon be targeted by Team Infinta as well", Gary explained.

"Sounds bad, lets beat these guys and then we'll talk, Squirtle Squad help beat those pokemon", Jenny replied.

The Pidgey evolution trio crashed into enemy pokemon and the Squirtle started to fire torrents of water at them as well like Jenny asked them to joining Gary's and the others pokemon knocking back all the attacks being fired at them. The Honchkrow took to the sky escaping the onslaught that they were now facing. Pidgeot pulled away from the battle as well screeching something and one of the Squirtle jumped into the air landing on it's back and they glided off together into the air after the Honchkrow.

Gary turned his attention away from the Pidgeot and Squirtle chasing the Honchkrow and back to the battle happening in front of them, with the extra help from the Pidgeys, Pidgeottos and Squirtles the battle is nearly coming to an end, only the Aegislash and Shiftry are left battling down on the ground. "Arcanine Flamethrower on Aegislash", Gary ordered.

"Dragonite help him with your own flamethrower", Professor Oak added and Dragonite nodded firing off a flamethrower at the same time as Arcanine and the two attacks merged as one increasing in size and power as they hit Aegislash some of the flames rebounded off Aegislash and Shifty was hit as well.

"Let's finish this Blastoise is Ice Beam and help him out Scizor use X-Scissor", Gary cried and his two pokemon fired off their attacks knocking Shiftry out cold before his trainer could utter a command to dodge it or use one of it's own attacks. "Well that's all of them", Gary said.

"Not all of the pokemon are out cold yet, we've still got Honchkrow", one of the members of Team Infinta cried.

"Not for long, look", Officer Jenny replied and Gary looked up watching as Pidgeot shot past it hitting it with a wing attack which was quickly followed by a torrent of water being fired out of Squirtle's mouth. Honchkrow dipped slightly, but Pidgeot and Squirtle didn't let up they continued to zoom past it hitting it with their attacks one after each other until Honchkrow dropped completely out of the sky crashing down in the middle of the circle of out cold pokemon belonging to Team Infinta. "Now they're out cold", Officer Jenny stated.

"We'll keep coming back with more, you'll never escape us we'll contact our fellow member and the next time you're seen they'll be ten times the man power",

"Mr Mime put them to sleep use Hypnosis on them", Delia ordered and Mr Mime started to shine slightly and one by one the men dropped to the floor asleep. "Well that gives us a bit more time now where are we supposed to go now? how are we to get out of the region? we can't keep winning every time we meet them", Delia continued looking at Gary and the others for an answer.

Gary looked at Pidgeot and Squirtle land on the ground in front of them and Squirtle jumped off his back and they started to quickly chat to each other. Gary couldn't help, but think that if that Squirtle is Ash's old one and they're talking like old friends that Pidgeot must be Ash old pokemon as well "Maybe we can help get you out of the region", A familiar female voice said from behind them.

Gary turned watching as Jessie, James and Meowth appeared round the back of his car walking towards them, "Team Rocket what are you guys doing here? and what do you mean you can help us get out of the region?"

"Same as you trying to find somewhere safe to hide from the organisation that calls themselves Team Infinta. We were attacked from within our own organisation people who thought we could trust tried to attack us and blew up the headquarters. We managed to escape the headquarters with a few others, but Giovanni and the other heads of the organisation weren't so lucky they were still inside the building when it exploded. All our other bases have suffered the same fate the people on our transport are the only remaining members of Team Infinta and we've agreed we want to give up crime and live normal lives", James explained.

"Why should we trust you after all you've done to us over the years?", Tracey asked.

"Because although we've done bad things to you over the years we've done good things as well. Even recently we helped the twerp get back to Kanto so he could save the twerpette. Please I know we don't deserve to be trusted, but we do want to help you, we overheard one of the members of Team Infinta mentioning that the twerp was the only one who could stop them and we want to help him defeat them to avenge Giovanni's death. You need a way out of the region and we're willing to take you out, can you really afford to pass up this oppurtunity?", Jessie answered.

"We can't trust them, we should keep going and find another way out of the region", Tracey stated.

"No we haven't got time to find another way out, guys we've got to accept their help", Gary replied.

"Gary you can't be serious", Tracey argued.

"I am Tracey, I'm not saying we can trust them, but we do need to get out of this region the more time passes the more members of Team Infinta will appear. Misty doesn't know when they'll get a chance to send an extraction force, a way out of the region has been offered and we have to take it. They're in the same boat as us, they've suffered at the hands of Team Infinta and Ash is going to need all the help he can get if he's to win this battle", Gary explained and slowly Tracey nodded. "Well we better get going then our destination is an island located between this region and the Hoenn region it's advertised as a holiday resort, but the champions of the regions round the world own and have set up a headquarters there that's where Ash is heading right now. Officer Jenny are you coming as well? You and the Squirtle squad will be a great help", Gary continued.

"I've seen and heard a bit about the threat this Team Infinta pose and I've decided that I be best utilised by coming with you and joining up with Ash. If what Team Rocket is saying is right he's our only hope., you've got my help", Officer Jenny answered and Gary smiled. "Squirtle squad form up", Officer Jenny continued and all the Squirtles including the one that had been speaking to the Pidgeot moved to stand in front of Officer Jenny. Gary watched as the Pidgeot moved over to the Pidgeys and Pidgeottos starting to chatter quickly with them, Gary could see what ever they were talking about is important.

"I wonder what they're talking about", Gary said out loud.

"Allow me", Meowth said moving to stand a bit closer listening for a bit before talking again, "Well the Pidgeot is saying that it needs to go and help his old trainer, but he doesn't want to leave them unprotected and they are replying that they know he has to go and they want him to go and help his old trainer they'll be okay they'll look out for each other until he gets back."

"So I was right that Pidgeot is the one that evolved from Ash Pidgeotto", Gary said out loud and Meowth nodded. The Pidgeys and Pidgeottos jumped into the air heading back towards the forest. Pidgeot moved over to them standing beside the Squirtles. "Well it seems we're all ready to leave where is your vehicle?" Gary asked.

"Not far let's get back in the vehicles and well guide you there, me, Jessie and Meowth will travel in the van and we'll take the lead and guide you", James replied and everyone nodded recalling their pokemon moving back to their vehicles starting up their engines, Gary spotted Pidgeot flying slightly above his car, Ash is going to be so happy to see him and Squirtle when they arrive at the island.

Tracey took the lead with Professor Oak following and Gary and Jenny driving side by side bringing up the rear. They drove for five minutes before the van slowed down and Jessie, James and Meowth jumped out. Gary parked next to the van leaning out the window looking at the three former members of Team Rocket, "So where is our way out of the region."

"Right here", Jessie replied waving her arms and two heli-carriers appeared parked on their left and right. "Right the left one is mostly empty so we'll head into that one I'll get them to lower the ramp and you can drive right into the storage area of the ship. The left one was prepped for a mission we were supposed to be sending to Hoenn region later in the week, everything on their is now there to be used by the twerp and anyone who stands with him lets get on board and into the air before we're spotted", Jessie continued and Gary nodded at her.

A ramp opened on the bottom of the ship and Gary moved towards it driving up it continuing into the ship moving to the far wall parking watching as the professor Oak, Tracey, Jenny and the Squirtle squad, Pidgeot and Team Rocket trio joined them inside the ship. Gary jumped out the car and he watched the others do it as well, "Come on follow me, we'll go and move onto the bridge you can guide our driver to where we're supposed to be heading", James suggested and everyone nodded following over to the door that opened as they approached it, they continued through the ship till they reached the bridge. Gary couldn't help, but be amazed at how high tech it was. "Niko tell the other ship to take off and follow us, we've got a destination it's an island in between this region and the Hoenn region get going and we'll give more precise coordinates in time ", James told the pilot who nodded at him talking into the communication system in front of him.

Gary felt the ship vibrate and soon the scene in front of them change as they rose higher and higher into the air till they were above the trees, Gary felt the engine power change and they blasted forward zooming over Viridian forest.

"It's going to take a while to get to the island how about we give you the tour of the ship and you can explain to us what's going on and why the twerp, no we should call him Ash now that we're on the same side is the only one who can stop them", Jessie asked and Gary's group nodded at her.

"Yeah why not, I can call Misty and tell her that she doesn't need to send someone to collect us anymore, we'll meet her at the island when she arrives", Gary answered and Jessie smile at him moving off towards the door with James and Meowth beside her.


	14. The Fightback Begins

Gary finished the story as they reached the pokemon habitat, "Squirtle and Pidgeot are here", Ash said and Gary nodded.

"Yep lets go and see them shall we", Gary replied opening the door stepping in. Ash followed him in still holding Misty's hand. Dawn, May and Delia followed them in and the occupants of the room turned to face them.

"Ash it's great to see you up and about again", Tracey said moving over to him wrapping his arms round Ash, Misty let go of Ash's hand and Ash wrapped his arms round his friend as well happy to see him in one piece and safe on the island.

"It's good to see you're okay as well Tracey", Ash replied and Tracey gave him a small smile before stepping back letting professor Oak approach Ash instead pulling him into a hug.

"Ash my boy I really did think we had lost you, but I'm so glad you're awake so I guess you've come to say hello to Squirtle, Pidgeot and your other pokemon", Professor Oak said and Ash nodded watching as Oak released him moving back to his chair getting back to the work he been doing when Ash and the others entered, "Okay well you know how to get inside the habitat, Professor Birch should be in there somewhere he's checking up on the pokemon he brought with him from the Hoenn region", Professor Oak continued and Ash gave him another nod.

"Professor we'll talk more later", Ash assured Professor Oak and he got a nod in reply. Ash moved over to the door opening in.

"Ash why don't we all give you some space to catch up with your pokemon we'll be in the lounge area when you're finished", May suggested.

"Misty could you stay please", Ash asked and Misty nodded slipping her hand into Ash's watching as the rest of their group minus Gary who it seemed was staying to help Tracey and Professor Oak moved back out the lab and into the corridor. Ash led Misty through the door into the habitat walking a good three hundred metres before stopping. "Pikachu can you call the others", Ash asked and his partner nodded jumping off his shoulder to the floor letting a small blast of electric that shot into the air exploding.

It only took thirty seconds for Ash to spot the first two pokemon heading this way and he smiled as he realised it was Pidgeot with Squirtle riding on his back. Ash let go of Misty's hand as Pidgeot swooped down and Squirtle jumped off his back right into Ash's arm giving Ash a large smile. "It's good to see you again Squirtle."

"Squirtle, Squirtle", Squirtle replied and Ash gave him a small smile placing him on the floor extending his right arm out. Pidgeot glided down landing on it allowing Ash to stroke him with his free hand.

"Pidgeot it's been even longer since I saw you hasn't it mate and I know that's my fault. I promised I would come back for you and I meant it, but as time went by I thought that maybe you found somewhere you belonged protecting your lower evolutions", Ash said and Pidgeot rubbed his head up against Ash and Ash smiled realising that Pidgeot didn't care how long it had been, they were back together again.

Ash had been so focused on his two returning pokemon he hadn't realised that the rest of his pokemon minus Lucario had arrived. Ash gave one last stroke to Pidgeot before he glided off again landing on the floor by Ash's feet. Ash moved round to his pokemon giving them a hug before returning back to Misty taking her hand. "Misty where's Lucario? isn't he here on the island" Ash asked.

"Oh Lucario is probably the battlefield room, he doesn't spend much time in here with the other pokemon. I think he wants help the resistance as much as he can by showing the aura guardians some of the manipulations that he's helped you learn as well as keep himself busy. He used to visit you three times everyday while you were in the coma and even though we couldn't talk I got the feeling he was worried about you Ash", Misty replied.

"Cool lets go join them, I want to see how they're doing", Ash replied and Misty nodded at him.

"Sounds good", Misty said giving Ash a large smile which Ash returned turning back to look at his pokemon..

"Guys I'm so glad to see you're all okay, I promise I'll come back later, but right now I've got so much to catch up on", Ash explained to his pokemon who each gave him a nod turning around running back off the way that they had come from when Pikachu called them. Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's shoulder and he turned as did Misty walking off together back to the door that leads back into the lab section.

Professor Birch had re-joined Professor Oak, Gary and Tracey back in the lab by the time Ash and Misty arrived back and as soon as they stepped through the door he got up moving over to Ash extending his hand out, Ash took it shaking it, "Ash, professor Oak was just telling me that you were up and about again it's good to see you again."

"Same Professor Birch, I'm glad May and the others got you out of the region unharmed", Ash replied.

"Me to Ash, right I better get back to work, I've got a lot of work I want to get finished before I turn in tonight speak to you again soon", Birch continued and Ash nodded watching as he moved back to sit at his desk working away on the computer in front of him.

"Are you off to meet the others now?", Tracey asked getting up from his desk moving to stand in front of Ash and Misty.

"Not right away, I want to stop off at the battle room to see Lucario and the aura guardians, but then yeah I thought we go and join the others", Ash replied.

"I know Lucario will be happy to see you up and about, well we'll see you in a bit", Professor Oak said and Ash nodded leading Misty over to the door opening it stepping out.

"Misty are Alan and Lana still on the island?"

"Yeah, Alan's leg has completely healed and now they're ready to head off again when you're ready", Misty replied.

"Have either of them visited Edward?" Ash asked.

"No not since the day we arrived they tried to see why he betrayed them, but he wouldn't speak to them so they've not bothered trying to visit him again", Misty answered.

"Probably for the best", Ash said and Misty nodded.

"Ash you looked tired, how you feeling?" Misty asked as they moved down the corridor.

"I am still slightly tired, but I don't feel so stiff anymore so that's good. Once we've visited Lucario I think I'm going to need to sit down for a bit, but other than that I'm fine Misty", Ash answered.

"That's good to hear, I'm sure everyone's got lots to talk to you about, so you'll have quite a while to rest in the lounge area", Misty replied as they reached the door to the battle room.

"Misty let see if we can surprise them shall we?", Ash suggested and Misty nodded giving him a large smile. Ash opened the door slowly looking inside spotting Lucario and the aura guardians working hard with their backs to them their respective Lucario's stood next to them.

Ash slipped in and Misty followed letting the door slowly close without a sound. Lucario fired a ball of aura into the air and Ash could see the aura guardians trying to summon some sort of attack to hit it, but Ash got there first even though it took a lot out of him and it was a lot weaker than he knows he can produce. Ash summoned some aura into his hand letting it cover it before flicking his wrist sending small daggers of aura into the sky crashing into Lucario's ball causing it to explode. Everyone turned looking at Ash and Misty a large smiles edged into their faces.

Lucario jumped over the aura guardian's heads running across the room stopping in front of Ash and Misty, "Ash you're awake", Ash heard Lucario say in his head and he nodded. "I failed you Ash, I should of been there to help you fight Umbra, but he beat me", Lucario continued turning his gaze to the floor.

Ash placed his hand on Lucario's shoulder and Lucario lifted his head up looking into Ash's eyes, "You didn't fail me Lucario, you did as I asked you gave me time to reach Misty, Umbra is stronger than anything I could of ever expected. Lucario we need to get stronger so that means that later we have to continue my training we both have to get stronger if we're to beat the Immortals", Ash replied and Lucario nodded.

"You're right Ash, we'll start on the more complex, but stronger manipulations later, the lessons will be harder and longer, but the results will be worth the effort", Lucario said and it was Ash's turn to nod.

"How the training with the aura guardians going?" Ash asked.

"Not bad Ash, I thought if I taught them some of the easier manipulations they could help protect Misty and the others and help to fight back against the Immortals. They're not anywhere close to you, but I think that's partly due to the power Aaron gave you and the huge strength of your aura before Aaron gave you the rest of his power", Lucario answered and Ash nodded watching as Davis and the five Masters he met at the temple in the Miracle Islands approached him.

"It's good to see you back on your feet again Ash", Master Arya said as she stopped in front of Ash, Misty and Lucario.

"It's good to be back on my feet again, Misty told me that the temples were attacked, is everyone okay?" Ash replied.

"Yeah everyone's fine, we got everyone out of the temple before Team Infinta ordered the Immortals to destroy them, years and years of history destroyed in one attack. We've sent all the in training aura guardians back to their families, they'll be safer there. Team Infinta won't harm them if they don't fight against them, but we can't sit around and let them continue to control all the regions of the world. We've promised to help Steven and I guess you now that you're awake every step of the way", Master Atticus answered.

"I'm glad to hear everyone is okay and I'll be happy to have all the help you can give us", Ash replied looking at all five Masters before turning his gaze to Davis, "Davis I want to thank you for helping get me off the island, but also for keeping Dawn, Misty and Lana safe as you did it", Ash continued.

"No worries mate, you helped me when you arrived at the island by evening the odds so I sort of owed you one and well we're friends and that's what friends do", Davis answered.

"Well thanks anyway, right I'll let you all get back to your lesson and we'll talk more later", Ash said and the Masters and Davis nodded. Ash turned to look at Lucario, "Lucario I'll come find you later so we can start our next lesson, I've got a few things to do first", Ash said and Lucario nodded at him turning following the others back into the centre of the room.

Ash moved over to the door that leads to the side that the lounge area is located, Ash opened the door and Misty moved out after him sliding her hand into his as they moved down the corridor. Ash and Misty passed a few people on their way and they said hi and how great it was to see Ash up and about again.

Ash and Misty heard the others as they approached the door to the lounge area talking about Ash and how good it is to have him back again. Ash moved into the room and everyone stopped talking looking at Ash and Misty as they slid down onto the empty two seater next to them, "How are all your pokemon?" Dawn asked.

"Good, they were glad to see me and it was great to see them all as well. I still can't believe that my Squirtle and Pidgeot are here, it's been ages since I've seen them last", Ash replied.

"Gary and Tracey said they were a sight to behold when they were fighting together against the Honchkrow that was trying to get away", May added.

"They always used to make a great team when they both travelled with me back when Pidgeot was only a Pidgeotto. I never thought I would get the chance to see them working as a team again, but it seems the world has proven me wrong when I head off next I think I might take them with me", Ash replied.

"Where are you going next?", Dawn asked.

"Um I don't know, first thing I've got to do is help rescue everyone from the prison and once that's done I'll talk to Steven and the other champions to discuss what happens next. I've got to keep heading to the different temple to get the stones and staff pieces because I think now more than ever we need Lucida's help to stop the Immortals and turn them back to their stone form", Ash answered.

"We did try to give you a hand with that while you were in the coma, Steven went to one of the temples that holds the staff pieces and stones. He tried to get into the final room, but it is as you and Alan said you're the only one who can get into there", May explained and Ash nodded.

"Right so we have proof I'm the only one who can get into that room, but I think I'm going to need a bigger group of people with me that I had before to help me get into the temples as I'm sure Team Infinta will stop at nothing to make sure that Lucida doesn't wake", Ash continued and everyone gave him a small nod.

"I'll be happy to come and help you and I know Max will be as well", May admitted.

"Me to", Dawn added.

"Thanks I'll be happy to have you two and Max come along, but before we go and make plans I do have to talk to the other champions to see what they want to do to stop Team Infinta", Ash replied.

"Ash if you're going to head off again you're going to need new clothes since your last set was ripped to shreds by Umbra and it is just by luck that I managed to finish your new set last night isn't it", Delia said and Ash turned to look at his mum giving her a huge smile.

"You've made me new clothes", Ash said and his mum nodded at him.

"Yeah, but these are slightly different to the ones I've made before. These are made to last and shouldn't rip as easily as your last set. Also the jacket and trousers are reversalable depending on you needs, one side is similar to your Kalos travelling gear while the other side is more camouflage style because something tells me you'll be trying to avoid detection on your next journey. They're in my room we'll head over there soon and you can grab them and change into them I'm sure you want to get out of those pyjamas soon", Delia replied.

"Indeed and I think if I want to be taken seriously I can't go round in pyjamas. Once I've got changed I'm going to use my times before Steven and the others get back productively. Me and Lucario are going to work on my aura manipulations so I'm ready if I have to face the Immortals anytime soon, but before that there's someone I need to visit for answer and I'm going to get them", Ash admitted.

Ash could see they knew who he wanted to go and that they were sure it was a good idea. "Ash are you sure you should go and see him today you've only just woke up, wait till tomorrow", Delia suggested.

"No tomorrow is to late, when Steven gets back I want to have sometime that I can tell him to help us win this war against Team Infinta. Mum I've been out of action for six weeks, but now I'm awake I'm going to make up for lost time and to start of with I'm going to find out what Team Infinta has planned for the regions in the long run", Ash replied.

"Ash just don't over do it will you, you've only just come out of a six week coma and you body needs time to get used to be active again", Delia said and Ash nodded at his mum.

"I won't mum, but before I go and visit Edward I want to spend some time with all of you guys, who knows when we'll get the chance to sit down here and talk like this again for a while", Ash replied and everyone nodded at him.

 **A Few Hours Later...**

Ash has to admit his mum has really out done herself this time on his clothes, they're amazing. One side of them looks quite similar to the clothes his mum gave him when he travelled to the Kalos region like she told him in then lounge area. The only differences are that the white part of his jacket is now a light yellow and the shoes she's provided are totally black instead of black and red. When reversed the jacket is completely black and a hidden zip section that can't be seen unless the jacket is reversed this way hides a hood that covers most of Ash's face from view so will come in handy when sneaking through places controlled by Team Infinta. The trousers are completely black as well and all together will make Ash nearly impossible to see in the dark so he could sneak past without being spotted.

Ash asked Misty to stay in their room after he had changed into new clothes before moving through the base till he reached the room that had been converted into Edward's cell. There was a guard stood at the door, but as soon as he recognised Ash he stepped out the way and let Ash unlock the door and step in.

Edward lifted his head from his chest looking at Ash for a few seconds before lifting himself up from the spot on the floor that he had been sat on, "So you're awake I see Ash, I was wondering if I was going to see you anytime soon. Have you come to see if I'll tell you anything, well guess what I'm not going to so you might as well leave", Edward said his voice getting louder every word he said.

"Well you see I would, but I've got more out of you in two seconds than you've said to anyone else in six weeks, ever since you were told I hadn't died so I think I might stay actually", Ash replied watching Edward carefully looking for any sign he's about to attack. Ash is feeling a lot stronger than he was earlier and he's sure that if Edward attacks he can summon enough aura to knock him back if needs be.

"Well I'm not going to say anymore", Edward said sliding back onto the floor.

Ash waited a few seconds to make sure Edward wasn't going to jump up again before moving over to the bed taking a seat looking at Edward. "Edward I just want to know why did you betray Alan and Lana?, I don't care that you betrayed me we don't really know each other, but those two care deeply for you and you were willing to kill Alan why?"

It took an age for Edward to answer and Ash was just giving up the hope he was going to get one before Edward finally replied, "Just following orders, they wanted Alan out the way and if I did that they promised me that they would spare Lana if I did as they asked I love her", Edward answered.

"You love her and yet you were willing to kill her dad, do you really think she would be with you knowing what you had done?" Ash asked.

"Maybe not to begin with, but once she saw the world we want to create she would come around she would see that her dad was just a casualty in the road to perfection", Edward answered.

"Edward you don't know what love is, love is doing everything to protect the one you love. Love is travelling hundreds of miles on a set of Lapras to get a cure to save the girl you love. Love is jumping in front of not just one, but two attacks knowing that there's no way you can stop them. Love is sitting beside a bed for six weeks hoping and praying with all you life that the person lying in that bed, the person you love with all your heart will pull through and you won't end up spending the rest of your life with memories of a person you'll never see again wondering what if they had survived", Ash countered looking at the pitiful boy sat in front of him not believing that he thinks he can justify his actions by saying he did it for love. "Well no matter the reason you did it you failed Alan still lives, Lana hates you and soon enough Team Infinta will fall and you'll face justice for what you've done. You know I think the reason you've not said anything to anyone else is because you don't know anything you're a lackey and the heads of the organisation haven't told you anything nor do they care that you've been captured", Ash continued trying to goad Edward into telling him something useful.

"Ash you act all tough and superior, but I know that we've managed to capture most of the forces that headed to the two temples. I may not of said anything to them, but I've heard quite a bit from the guards when they don't think I can hear them. Team Infinta is massive and what do you have a hundred maybe two at most. What we've done so far is tiny compared what we have planned, the first two or three months was always meant to be about whittling out anybody who would stop us and your fellow champions actually helped us with that when they started to organise that tournament for the best trainer in the world. We're going to let it go ahead and then we're going to lock everyone there up with everyone from the temple. Ash once we've done that, Ash that is when the true plan begins. We're going to force the people of the world to follow our rules and regulations or they'll face the consequences and we'll use everyone we've already captured to show that message. We're going to take everyone pokemon, all the money and lands that people own and use them for our master plan we're going to be a monument to our greatness that will last for the rest of time. We will build castles and manor for us to live in and we will be the emperors of the regions and once we've wiped out all of your idiots I'll be released and I'll re-join my fellow members in a massive castle this is being built in my name and you know I might ask them to keep you alive so I can watch you fade away day by day AS you realise we've won and you've failed everyone that looked to you for leadership and help", Edward countered sneering at Ash, but Ash couldn't help, but smile at Edward he got actually what he wanted an idea of what they had planned and now that he has that he can use that information to stop them before they get going.

"Edward thank you for all that helpful information, but I'm going to have to shatter you dream slightly. We've already set wheels in motions to free anyone captured we actually took a leaf from Team Infinta's book we sent a spy into the prison to gain Intel and help us to disable any problems we'll face. Plus now that I know what's going to happen at the tournament I can set wheels in motion to stop anyone else from being captured there. You've been most helpful, I'll make sure that they send in extra helping of food for the next few days for you as a thank you. Oh yes before I go Team Infinta isn't as in control as you planned, we've been running rescue mission for weeks and we've not been stopped once the resistance is small at the moment, but everyday it grows and unfortunately most people won't just lie down and roll over to you. See you again soon Edward", Ash replied lifting himself off the bed moving to the door. Ash heard Edward jump off the floor and he spun round firing a fist of aura right into Edward knocking him into the wall watching as he crumbled to the floor clutching his back. "I'm not the same Ash you met on that plane anymore Edward, I've seen things I never want to see come to pass. Now I have to step up to the plate and stop anyone who gets in my way with any means necessary. Edward we could of been friends and you could of been happy, but you chose the wrong side I hope you enjoy cells because if I have my way you'll be spending a lot of time in one", Ash said as he knocked on the door watching as it opened taking one last look at Edward before stepping out moving away from the cell.

Ash noticed a large amount of activity as he moved back through the base to his and Misty's room. Ash placed his hand on the door handle hearing someone talking to Misty inside their room. "Misty Steven's called a urgent meeting, we've just received news that has caused us to have to change our plans involving the attack on the prison."

"Brock what's going on?" Misty asked.

"Steven will explain I promise", Brock answered.

Ash opened the door and both Misty and Brock turned to look at him Ash had to admit Brock's face was a picture, "Well we better get going then, I've got some information to tell Steven as well", Ash said.

"Ash you're awake", Brock cried as he closed the gap between them wrapping his arms round Ash. "Oh my god it's so good to see you again mate, you had me worried", Brock continued and Ash could feel his friend's body shaking and he felt a few tears splash down onto his jacket.

Ash wrapped his arms round Brock as well before answering, "Brock I'm sorry I worried you, but I'm awake now and we're going to stop Team Infinta together. Brock I know to me it feels like it's only hours since we last saw each other, but it's good to see you here safe and unharmed."

"Right we better get to the meeting everyone will be waiting for us", Brock said as both him and Ash released each other from the hug taking a step back from each other wiping away the few tears that had appeared in both their eyes. Ash let Misty slip her hand into his before following her and Brock out the room and down the corridor.

As soon as they entered the conference room Max rushed over to Ash wrapping him arms round Ash, "May and Dawn just told me you had woken up, it's so good to have you back with us", Max cried.

"It's good to be back Max, Max I've heard that you've been a great help over the last six weeks I'm proud of you", Ash replied.

"Thanks Ash, I did it all for you I wanted us to have an advantage when you woke up we had a way forward", Max said and Ash couldn't help but smile at his younger friend as Max released Ash and took a step back.

"Max well thank you, I always known I could count on you to have my back. We better take our seats looks like Steven wants to start the meeting", Ash replied and Max nodded moving round the table taking a seat next to his parents and May. Ash slid down in the seat he had sat in during the first meeting with Misty next to him and Brock next to her again.

"Right well I'm sure everyone can see that Ash is back with us and I'm sure everyone will agree that is great news, now back to the reason I called this meeting. On the way back to the island I got a message from our guy inside the prison it seems that soon the staffing at the prison is to increase tenfold to compensate for the large amount of people they're sending from.."

"The tournament that is being held, the same one you and the other champions were organising to find a replacement for Lance", Ash interrupting finishing the sentence and Steven nodded.

"Yeah how did you know that Ash? Did Brock tell you", Steven asked looking at Ash the Brock who was shaking his head.

"No Edward told me", Ash replied.

"Edward, he spoke to you", Steven said a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah he was quite chatty with me actually, I wound him up so he would boast about Team Infinta and that was one of the things he told me about", Ash answered.

"Well he was telling the truth, the tournament is tomorrow and by tomorrow night there will be a new set of guards there, they're bringing forward the rotation of guards and that means that we have to attack the prison tomorrow morning so we'll be leaving an hour after sunrise", Steven continued.

"And we've got to stop Team Infinta from capturing anyone who goes to the tournament", Ash added and Steven nodded at him.

"Yes we do so the plan changes, instead of one large force attacking the prison we'll be sending two forces in two different directions. I will lead the one to the prison.."

"And I'll lead the one at the tournament. Misty told me that the attack on the prison is only going to work if the members of Team Infinta don't realise there is a problem at the prison and what's a bigger distraction than me turning up at the tournament and making a massive scene the focus will be on me so the prison will be an easy target", Ash interrupted.

"Ash are you sure, you've only just come out of a six week long coma", Steven said.

"Yeah I'm sure, if we're going to split our forces in two there's a few people I want in my force", Ash replied.

"I'm sure we can arrange it, who do you want?"

"Well I want Max, Gary, Master Atticus and Lana. Steven I also believe that you should have Brock and Misty on our team, their families are in that prison and I think they'll respond better to a rescue if there see a friendly face or at least I'm sure Misty will agree with me her sisters will and I think May and Dawn would be a great help as well, Dawn travelled with the party that went to the temple holding Umbra and May just has this trustable quality about her", Ash replied.

"I think that sounds fair Ash, as long as the people Ash has mentioned have no issues with their placement it's official, the rest of you will be given your locations tomorrow morning and then you'll be briefed on the way to your destination by myself or Ash. Okay I think we all better retire to our rooms and turn in for the night soon, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, Ash may I have a word alone quickly please", Steven said and everyone nodded at him getting out of their seats moving out the two doors till only Ash and Steven were left. Misty didn't want to leave, but Ash promised her he would be back at the room in a few minutes and he tell her everything Steven said to him before he headed to the battle room to meet up with Lucario to start his next lesson on aura manipulation.

"So Steven what's up?" Ash asked now that they were alone.

"Ash it's good to have you back, I just wanted to talk to you about anything else you may of gotten out of Edward", Steven replied.

"Well apparently this is just the beginning once they've taken out anyone who can stand in their way that's when the real objective begins. Edward said that they want to control the whole world and force the people to follow their rules by taking everything they own, money, land, pokemon and they'll use that to create massive mansions and castles that the members of Team Infinta can call home. His exact words were to build a monument to our greatness that will last for the rest of time", Ash answered.

"Okay I see, well I don't see that happening tomorrow the true fight back begins now we've got you back and tomorrow we'll have Cynthia and the others back and we'll plan our fight back and that includes finding a way for you to travel through all the regions collecting the items needed to wake Lucida she is our only hope now", Steven said.

"Indeed she is Steven, right we better both turn in for the night as well, we've got a busy day tomorrow", Ash replied and Steven nodded both of them rising from their chair moving out opposite doors heading off to their respective bedrooms.


	15. The Resistance Grows - Part 1

"Ash are you awake?" Misty asked from her side of the bed.

"Yeah what's up?" Ash replied turning slowly over in the bed looking at her. Truth be told Ash has been awake for most of the night he just couldn't drift off into a deep sleep he fall to sleep fora few minutes, but the nightmares began and he woke up again. Ash stayed in the bed as still as he can so not to wake Misty or Pikachu who was sleeping next to Ash on his side of the bed. He's used this time to think over his plan for infiltrating the tournament as well as which team he wants to take with him. Two places are taken, Pikachu and Lucario, but four places are still up for grab and Ash has changed his mind at least ten times during the night.

"Ash I'm worried."

"About what Misty?" Ash asked letting his hand slide down to her sliding his fingers in between hers.

"About us heading on different missions today to different places to each other. Ash I nearly lost you after the battle with Umbra I worry that I'm going to lose you properly this time", Misty whispered and Ash looked at her, he's worried about the same thing, but letting the worry control him will only make things worse he has to put it to one side and focus on the mission ahead.

"Mist you won't lose me, I won't be on my own I'll have Gary and Max by my side and I know they'll have my back like I know Brock, May and Dawn will have your back today. Misty we'll both make it back to the island tonight in once piece and then we'll laugh about how silly we were to be worried", Ash replied leaning forward lightly kissing Misty on the lips.

"Ash I hope so, I know Gary and Max will look out for you today, but I' ll still worry you're heading into a place that's probably going to be full of members of Team Infinta", Misty continued as Ash pulled back.

"That's don't worry me, my lesson with Lucario last night went amazing he taught me a few moves that will come in handy if we get spotted or surrounded. Come on let's get up I'm sure neither of us actually going to go back to sleep let's just go and watch the sunrise shall we?" Ash said and Misty nodded lifting her covers off her body placing them back down after she had slid out. Ash tried to slowly lift himself over the sleeping form of Pikachu, but as he got off the bed Pikachu let out a large yawn looking up at his trainer stood by the side of the bed. Pikachu rubbed his eyes before sitting up. "Alright buddy?, me and Misty are off to watch the sunrise once we've got dressed, do you want to come to or do you want to go back to sleep?", Ash asked looking down at his partner.

Pikachu jumped out the bed and Ash placed the covers back before grabbing his clothes from the floor where he chucked them last night pulling them on bit by bit till he was dressed. Ash watched as Misty pulled on her top giving him a smile before moving round the bed joining Ash and Pikachu as they walked to the door opening it stepping into the office area.

The door leading into the main base opened before they reached it and Professor Oak stepped through with a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. He walked in writing something on the pad only looking up at the last second spotting Ash and Misty looking at him, "Oh you're awake I was just going to leave a note to say could you drop in as I need to talk to you about something, but since you're awake could you come to the lab quickly", Professor Oak asked and both Ash and Misty nodded at him.

"Yeah that's fine, we'll come to the lab and pick up our pokemon at the same time and then me and Misty are going to go and watch the sunrise above ground together", Ash replied and professor Oak nodded at him as Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and Ash slid his hand into Misty's following Oak out the door and into the main part of the base.

The journey to the lab took a few minutes and it was travelled in complete silence, Oak only said something after he closed the door to the lab after they had entered, "Ash you're mum is really worried about you going off today, you've only just come out of a coma yesterday."

"Professor I have to go, I've got to help all those trainers heading into the trap Team Infinta has prepared. Professor there could be people I call my friends heading there thinking there going to have some great battle when in reality they're looking at a future in a cell", Ash replied.

"I know and so does your mum, the reason I asked you to come here is so I can give you something that I believe can help you as I have a feeling I know who you want to take with you today, one of them you can used right away, another I think maybe will be helpful in the future if he evolves twice", Oak said moving over to his desk opening the draw taking out a box moving back to Ash and Misty opening it letting Ash look inside the box. Ash couldn't help, but smile as he looked down at the two stones sat inside the box.

"Where did you get them?", Ash asked.

"Well I found this one", Oak replied pointing to the one of the left, "While I was travelling a few months back and the second one Steven gave to me a couple of weeks ago he said I might find a better use for it than he could. Ash I think he meant for me to give it to you when the time was right and I think now is that time is now Ash I've fitted Pidgeot with a band on it's leg to place the stone in, but I thought you want to give him the stone yourself", professor Oak continued and Ash nodded.

"Thank you professor I would like to give the stone to Pidgeot myself and I'll keep the second one safe till I need it" Ash replied.

"Ash that's fine, the second band is ready for you when you need it, but I'll keep it here for now, it's a lot bigger than Pidgeot's one and is to heavy to carry round in your backpack all the time", Oak informed Ash who nodded at him.

"Thanks Professor, I'll just go and give Pidgeot the stone, could I please have a pokeball for him as well as the ones belonging to Lucario, Charizard, Squirtle and Sceptile I'll call them to their pokeballs while I'm in there", Ash replied and Professor Oak nodded at him moving over to the corner of the room opening a cupboard,. Ash saw it was full of pokeballs on seven different shelves inside. Professor Oak lifted five pokeballs off the shelves one by one moving over to Ash handing them to him. Ash placed each ball on his belt one by one. "Thanks Professor, right I'll just be a few minutes Misty and then we better get above ground so we don't miss the sunrise", Ash said and both Misty and Professor Oak nodded at him.

Ash moved over to the door opening it stepping inside, Ash moved away from the door and further into the habitat looking around spotting Charizard sleeping a few metres away. Ash moved over to him and he watched as Charizard opened one of his eyes looking at him. "Hi buddy, I'm going to need your help today", Ash said and Charizard let out a large yawn releasing a blast of fire from his jaws before sitting up allowing Ash to call him into his pokeball. Ash heard a bird cry and looked up into the air watching as all of Ash's bird pokemon dove down towards him landing on the ground around him. "Pidgeot I've got a present for you", Ash said kneeling down placing the mega stone into the band that Oak had fitted. "I'm going to need your help are you up for an adventure?" Ash continued and Pidgeot nodded allowing Ash to call him to the pokeball Professor Oak gave to him. "The rest of you guys I'm sorry I can't take you all today, but I promise we'll hang out later", they all nodded at him before taking off.

Ash managed to located the other three of him pokemon in another few minutes and he called them all back to their pokeballs before returning to the lab where Misty and Oak were just finishing the conversation in the time Ash had been collecting his pokemon. "Yeah I know what you mean, but hey there's nothing we can do about it", Misty said and Oak nodded.

"Okay I've collected all my pokemon, thanks for everything professor I know it will all come in handy. We better get going else we'll miss the sunrise", Ash said as he closed the door to the pokemon habitat.

"No worries, well I'll see you two later I'm coming to see you all off. Right off you go, you don't want to miss the sunrise", Professor Oak replied and Ash nodded at him taking Misty's in his moving towards the door moving back into the main part of the base.

Ash and Misty didn't meet anyone else on their journey through the base till they stepped out the lift meeting one of the sentries that had been posted to keep an eye on anything approaching the island, "Anything new to report?" Ash asked and the sentry shook their head at him as he got up from the desk he was sat at, Ash could see views of the while island on the screens in front of him.

"No a quiet night Mr Ketchum, nothing approached the island. Can I help you with anything else?" , the sentry asked.

"No thank you, we've just come to watch the sunrise. Tell the others posted round the island to act like we're not here", Ash replied and the sentries nodded at him moving back to his desk picking up his communicator.

"Ash I know a great place for us to sit and watch the sunset it's near one of the watchtowers on a hill. We have to take the path you would take if you were staying in the holiday complex, but leave the path about half way and walk for a few minutes till we reach it", Misty informed Ash and he nodded smiling.

"Well lead the way then Misty", Ash replied and Misty nodded returned the smile leading Ash out the door and down the path. As Misty had explained to Ash they left the path halfway to the holiday complex and moved along a small grassy area that seems to have been flattened by quite a few people walking across it everyday for the last few weeks. Misty led Ash up the hill and he got a look at the watchtowers for the first time, they look ruined buildings that seemed to have been forgotten, but Ash understands that they are supposed to look like that so that if anybody from Team Infinta happened to come they wouldn't realise that it the base for the resistance. Ash had to admit that Misty was right it is a great place to watch the sunrise and they've arrived just in time the sun is starting to slowly rise in the distance.

Ash sat down and Misty sat down next to him letting him wrap his arm round her pressing them together, Ash kissed Misty on the forehead before turning back to watch the sunrise.

Ash and Misty didn't say a word to each other as the sun rose enjoying the amazing scene in front of them. The island seemed to understand as well as there was a nice silence covering it as well. Ash knew there was someone in the watchtower next to them, but he couldn't hear them moving around inside.

"Ash what's that?", Misty asked pointing to a shape moving through the sea in the distance.

"I don't know, follow me, maybe we'll have better luck seeing what it is in the watchtower", Ash replied jumping up helping Misty up leading her into the watchtower, they jumped up the stairs two by two till they reached the top stopping in front of the sentry placed inside. "Do you have any binoculars?" Ash asked.

"Yeah course, here what's up?" the sentry replied handing Ash a set of binoculars. Ash placed them to his face looking through the lens at the shape Misty had seen.

"It's a ship", Ash informed Misty and the sentry.

"Should I sound the alarm?" the sentry asked.

"Um no not yet, it's only a small ship and it doesn't look like there's anybody on the top deck at the moment. Before we wake the whole island I think it would be better if I go and have a quick look at the ship. It might just be passing by and by sounding the alarm we'll give ourselves away. Misty you stay here and then if I think it's time to sound the alarm I'll call you as I leave the ship", Ash replied and both Misty and the sentry nodded. "Right I better head back down, Pikachu I'm going to need you and Pidgeot to head to the ship together to distract them to give me an opening to land on the ship unseen", Ash continued and everyone nodded at him.

Ash called out Pidgeot and Charizard as soon as he reached the bottom of the watchtower. Pikachu jumped onto Pidgeot's back as Ash climbed onto Charizard, both pairs jumped into the air flying off the island. Ash and Charizard went one way and Pikachu and Pidgeot went the other heading straight across the line of sight of anyone on the ship. Once Ash was sure that their attention would be on his two other pokemon he told Charizard to fly full speed towards the boat. Ash slid off his back as soon as they reached the boat. Ash landed on the deck softly before moving slowly and quietly across the deck. "Charizard return", Ash whispered and his pokemon returned to his pokeball.

"Ash is that you?" A voice said from behind Ash and he spun a ball of aura forming in both of his hands letting them go as soon as he realised who it was.

"Meyer", Ash replied and Clemont's and Bonnie's dad nodded at him. "Are Bonnie and Serena here on the ship as well?" Ash asked as Pidgeot glided down onto the deck and Pikachu jumped off his back moving over to Ash taking his place on Ash's shoulder.

"Yeah they are probably sat in our room with Serena's mom, both girls haven't been sleeping well recently. They've been working themselves up worrying about Clemont, you and all your other friends", Meyer replied.

"What happened to you guys? everyone has been looking for you for the last six weeks we couldn't get hold of you", Ash asked.

"It's a long story and one better told when we off this ship and we've all had a bit of sleep. Ash I promise that after I've had a few hours sleep I'll tell you everything", Meyer replied.

"Sure most of the people on the island are heading off for the day anyway, we've got to missions to complete. Meyer by the end of the day Clemont should be back with us and Bonnie and Serena won't have anymore to worry about", Ash replied.

"You're going to rescue Clemont", Meyer repeated and Ash nodded.

"One group led by Steven is heading to the prison that they're all been held in while my group is heading to the site of the massive tournament being held to rescue all the trainers that are walking into a trap", Ash replied.

"Ash I've got to go with Steven's group I have to help free my son. He allowed himself to be captured so we could escape the least I can for him is to help rescue him", Meyer announced.

"Meyer are you sure? You look exhausted", Ash replied.

"I've got to Ash he's my son", Meyer countered and Ash nodded.

"Meyer that's fine Steven will be happy for another set of hands. The girls will be in good hands, they'll have my mum, May's mum, Dawn's mum and Serena's mum looking after them while we're off on our missions. Before I go back to island I might just go and see if the girls are awake", Ash replied.

"I'm sure they'll be glad to see you they're in room twelve on the floor below, the staircase is on the other side of the boat", Meyer replied and Ash nodded at him calling back Pidgeot before moving across the deck leaving Meyer to keep watch. Ash reached the staircase and he moved down till he reached the floor moving down the corridor till he reached room twelve knocking lightly on the door.

Ash heard movement inside and a few seconds later the door opened and Serena looked out. Ash could see the massive bags under her eyes, she looks even more exhausted then Meyer does. "Serena you look exhausted", Ash whispered opening his arms letting Serena step into them wrapping them around her

"I am, but with everything going on sleep isn't a easy thing to find. I just can't seem to sink in a deep sleep anymore". Serena answered as she stepped out of Ash's hug.

"Well forget everything that's going on everything will soon be alright. Serena stop worrying about me and stop worrying about Clemont. I'm fine and by the end of the day Clemont will be back at the island along with anyone else that has been captured. Is Bonnie awake?" Ash replied and Serena nodded.

"Yeah she is, come on in I know she'll be happy to see you. Ash you said Clemont will be back on the island by tonight, do you mean that", Serena said as she stepped out the way letting Ash enter the room. As soon Ash stepped through the door Ash felt a small set of arms wrap round him and he smiled looking down at the exhausted form of Bonnie.

"Hi Bonnie, this is only a quick visit, but I was talking to your dad and he told me you've not been sleeping well. Bonnie I've already said this to Serena and I'm going to say it to you, stop worrying so much about me, Clemont and everyone else. I'm going to sort everything out, Clemont will be back on the island with you by the end of the day we're sending a team to free everyone from the prison. Bonnie I'm going to stop Team Infinta and then we're going to return to our normal lives", Ash explained.

"Do you mean that? Clemont's going to be back here on the island tonight", Bonnie replied and Ash nodded.

"Yep, so what I want both you and Serena to do is to wait till you get on the island and then we're going to find you a room so that you can both catch up on some sleep so that when Clemont returns you don't look so tired. He'll be worried if he turns up and you don't look close to normal self", Ash replied and Bonnie nodded releasing Ash from her hug.

"You're right Ash, I'm glad that you're okay Ash. We heard about what happened on the island and we've not been able to find out anymore. When we escaped the gym we lost our communication watches so we couldn't even call you or Misty to hear more", Bonnie explained and Ash nodded.

"I'm glad both of you are okay as well, right I better get back to the island I've got to tell them to allow the ship to dock and then I've got to talk to Steven quickly before we heard off to rescue everyone. Once I'm back we'll talk more I promise, I want to hear more about what's happened with you since we last saw each other the day we each left this island", Ash replied and they both nodded giving Ash a quick hug each before he moved out the room again heading back the way he came.


	16. The Resistance Grows - Part 2

Ash snuck a look back behind him spotting Gary a few steps behind him. Ash had chosen six people plus Meowth to join him the advance party of people sneaking into the stadium. Jessie and James had used their massive experience in disguises and infiltrating places to come up with a plan where they can get the advance party into the stadium without being stopped and then open the doors to allow the remaining people in their attack party into the stadium as well.

Ash can feel Pikachu clinging onto his shirt under the full body cloak with a hood that Ash has been given by Jessie to hide his face from all the members of Team Infinta. Jessie and James created a mask to hide most of Ash's facial features just encase Ash has to lower his hood once inside, but they're hoping that they'll be so much going on they won't bat an eyelid at a guy with his hood up.

Ash wasn't sure about having the three former members of Team Rocket with him, but he's starting to think maybe he was wrong about them. They've done nothing but help since they left the island and they presented Ash with a few smoke bombs that can be used if Ash needs to make his escape unseen. If this mission goes without a hitch Ash is going to have to let his issues with their past deeds go, the resistance needs to be united and as long as they stick to the straight and narrow Ash has no problem working with them for the foreseeable future.

When they reached the island Ash got the pilot to land the carrier close to the dock and then Ash and the others exited the ship joining the crowd of people coming from the docks one by one. Ash instructed the pilot to stay invisible and take off again to drop the remaining members of his force in three of the four smaller stadiums placed near the main stadium before landing in the fourth which is also the closest of the smaller stadiums near the main stadium ready for everyone to get on. The four stadiums should be empty so they shouldn't face any problems, but just encase Ash gave them permission to use any of the gadgets that they brought along to stop them including the stun bombs that the scientists back the island created.

Ash joined one of the four lines of people being signed into the main stadium where the supposed opening ceremony is supposed to be being held, but in truth is so that everyone can be captured easily all at once. The other four stadiums that are placed near the main stadium are empty right now The line moved slowly giving Ash time to take another look back behind him. Gary was in the next line to Ash and two places behind him is Master Atticus. Max is the line over from Gary with James two people behind with Meowth beside him. Lana and Jessie are in the final line stood one behind the other.

The plan is once they're inside they separate and not draw attention to themselves they can't been seen talking. They must just team up with their partner and head off to each door while Ash moves into the centre of the battleground and join the other competitors ready to create the biggest scene possible.

Ash reached the front of the line and he took a deep breath as the guy with the small hand held laptop looked at him, "Name please?"

"Nico Flare", Ash replied sticking to the name that Ash chose while they were travelling here. Once Ash had chosen who he wanted to have in the advance party Ash got the people back on the island to hack and add the chosen fake names to the tournament system.

The guy typed in the name before nodding, "Welcome Mr Flare please follow your fellow competitors into the stadium the opening ceremony will begin soon, good luck in your future battles I hope you do well."

"Thank you", Ash replied moving into the stadium. Ash followed the other competitors through the stadium till they reached one of the entrances that leads into the battlefield in the centre. Ash could see loads of people already gathered on it and a few his recognised including his rival from the Sinnoh region Paul and his friend from the Kanto region Richie. Ash let his gaze move round the seating areas around the stadium wondering how many of them are actually members of Team Infinta and how many are just normal people who have paid to come and see a tournament not knowing it's all a trap and something bad is about to happen.

Ash felt some one place their hand on his arm and he turned slowly not sure who he's going to find owns that hand surprised to find that it was Alec the guy he beat in the final of the Kalos league.

"Hello Ash it's good to see you again, I saw that you used my information about the cure for your girlfriend Misty, but it seems that yet another problem has appeared for you to beat", Alec whispered so only he and Ash could hear.

"Alec how did you know it was me?" Ash whispered back.

"I've seen what you're about to do and I have to say it's amazing, but you're going to need help and that's where I come into it", Alec replied still whispering.

"Okay what do I need to do?" Ash asked keeping his voice as quiet as he could.

"Get to Richie and Paul warn them and I'll warn a few others. When Team Infinta start their speech you've got to wait till they say this tournament is just a disguise for our real plan and there's no one that can stop us Team Infinta will never be defeated before showing yourself. The uproar of your appearance will be amazing and by then your friends will have taken out an members of Team and they'll open the doors and let your friends in. Ash one last thing Team Infinta have a surprise of their own, Ash they've brought along one of the creatures they command I believe you called him Fissura in my vision", Alec replied.

"Fissura, you're sure", Ash replied and Alec nodded. "Okay that makes things a little bit harder, Fissura is the earth Immortal and they're strong my main focus has to be on fighting him so Alec one he appears you have to get as many people out of here and onto our awaiting ship in the stadium closest to this one", Ash added and Alec nodded at him again.

"Okay we better split before people start to wonder what we've been talking about", Alec whispered and Ash nodded moving off one way towards Richie while Alec went the other way.

Ash stumbled into Richie on purpose and he felt Richie start to topple so he grabbed him pulling him close to only Richie could hear him, "Richie it's Ash, you've got to listen to me this is a trap. Team Infinta have set this up so they can capture all the strong trainers and put them in prison where they can't oppose them. Richie right now there's a plan in motion to get everyone out of here without being captured."

"Ash that's you, oh my god where have you been it's been six weeks since the last sighting of you", Richie whispered.

"In hiding, waiting for the right time to strike. Richie we haven't got much time to explain I just need you to trust me and I'll explain later. Richie I'm going to show myself and they'll be confusion I need you to try and get as many people to follow you out of the arena and on to the heli-carrier that will be parked outside it's going to take everyone somewhere safe", Ash replied and Richie nodded so Ash let him go moving away again.

Ash could see Alec moving around speaking to people getting nods from them before he moved on. Ash moved through the crowds stopping next to Paul. Paul turned looking at him before speaking, "Can I help you?"

"Paul it's Ash I need you to trust me just this once, this whole thing is a trap set up by Team Infinta so they can capture you all and place you in prison where you can't oppose them. There is no tournament being held here today", Ash quickly explained.

"So I was right this is a trap, well I'm not sticking around to be captured", Paul replied starting to move off back towards the archway that leads back into the outer area of the stadium.

"Paul they won't let you leave, but I promise I can get you out of here if you just trust me", Ash replied placing his hand on Paul's shoulder. Paul turned looking at Ash and Ash could see he was thinking about his options but finally he nodded. "Good right when I show myself start to move towards the exit our way off this island is parked in the closest of the four staduims get to it and then help defend it from any members of Team Infinta", Ash added not waiting for an answer from Paul before moving away stopping in the middle of a bunch of trainers a few feet from the stage that had been set up in the centre of the battlefield ready to show himself when the time arrives. "Pikachu out you come, you need to be ready for when the fight begins", Ash said and his partner let go of his shirt sliding down his body and legs till he reached the floor.

Ash moved one of his hands into the cloak pulling out a small device that Steven had presented him with before they both seperated on the island. It's a handheld microphone so that eveyone will be able to hear him once he starts to talk.

"It's done Ash, get ready it'll soon begin", Alec said quietly as he moved past not bothering to stop to wait for Ash reply.

Ash watched a group of people appeared through one of the entrance moving across the battlefield. The trainers moved out the way allowing them to move up the stairs and onto the stage. Everyone except one guy in a suit sat down in the seats that were on the stage the guy in the suit moved to stand in front of the microphone that had been set up. "Hello my name is Luca. I would like to welcome everyone to this amazing occasion, we've got trainers from every region here today looking to be crowned the best trainer in the world", Ash looked behind him watching as hundreds of men and woman started to move through the entrances around the stadium. Team Infinta is getting into position Ash thought to himself as he turned back to Luca. "I'm glad you've all come here today it makes everything just that little bit easier. You know why because I'm going to let you in on a little secret this tournament is just a disguise for our real plan and there's no one that can stop us now Team Infinta will never be defeated."

"Well aren't you slightly big headed", Ash said into his handheld microphone, Ash's voice echoed across the stadium and he could see that Luca as well as quite a few of the trainers were wondering where it was coming through. "No one can stop you, well I'm sorry, but I have to disagree you think you've got control over the regions, but you haven't there's still quite a few of us fighting back here and elsewhere", Ash continued and the trainers around him started to step away as they realised it was him that was speaking.

Ash looked up at Luca and Luca looked back at him, "Well looks like we've got our self a hero, why don't you come up here and we can chat face to face let's get rid of this silly charade", Luca suggested and Ash nodded he needs to be on the stage for the greatest effect when he reveals himself.

"Well I wouldn't call myself a hero, just someone who knows what's right and wrong", Ash replied as everyone started to create a path for him to the stairs leading onto the stage.

Ash moved up the stage moving over to stand in front of Luca, "So care to tell me who you are?" Luca asked.

"Tell you how about I show you instead", Ash replied pulling off the cloak and mask in two motions. "There is that better, do you recognise me now? you thought you got rid of me, but I'm sorry I've come back better and stronger than ever", Ash added. Ash could see his appearance had surprised Luca and the other members of Team Infinta so he took advantage continuing. "Everyone here we can win this fight today all you need to do is join me, Team Infinta may think they're unstoppable, but they aren't. Everything must fall and I promise you they will. They are only so strong at the moment because they have control over five creatures called the Immortals, but I know of a way to defeat them I just need help and time to do it. So I ask you will you stand with me today?" Ash could see he had convinced a good percentage of the trainers stood on the battlefield below him.

"So you are alive then Mr Ketchum, but you've made a massive mistake by coming here, get him", Luca cried and all the other people the stage rushed towards him. Ash let them get close before attacking. Ash summoned aura in both hands allowing Pikachu to grab onto his leg as his partner realised what he's about to do before smashing his hands together sending a massive shockwave out that send everyone else including Luca flying off the stage.

"Actually I made no such mistake, you made a mistake by letting me get up here on the stage", Ash shouted down at Luca who was untangling him for the limbs of the other members of Team Infinta.

"Well neither you or any of these trainers will make if off this island, you may have some great tricks up your sleeves, but even with all these trainers helping you we still out number you by a couple hundred there is no way you can win", Luca shouted as he got up off the floor.

"Who said I came alone, I've brought reinforcements", Ash replied and he turned watching as Max, Gary, Jessie, Lana, James Master Atticus raced onto the battlefield disguises gone with all their pokemon out of their pokeballs closely followed by the rest of the group Ash brought from the island. "Now I think we're even so lets see who's going to win shall we?" Ash added.

"Team Infinta attack, don't let them get away", Luca screamed running off across the battlefield into one of the entrances closest to him. All the men and woman Ash had witnessed entering the battlefield when Luca had been speaking pulled pokeballs out of their pockets and off their belts so hundreds of pokemon appeared on the battlefield.

"Everyone out you come", Ash cried and Sceptile, Charizard, Lucario, Squirtle and Pidgeot appeared on the stage with him and Pikachu. "My fellow trainers, me and my friends can get you off this island all you have to do is help us take out as many members of Team Infinta out as possible", Ash said into his microphone as he and his pokemon jumped off the stage attacking three members of Team Infinta at once.

Ash could see Max and the others battling against other members of Team Infinta all around the stadium, but every time he went to move closer to one of them he would be pressed back by a new group of trainers battling on the side of Team Infinta.

"Ash watch out", A voice cried out and he felt someone crash into him taking him off his feet. Ash rolled over watching as an attack zoomed over the area he had been stood in before beside him looking at who had saved him. Ash was surprised to find himself face to face with someone he hadn't seen in years Anabel the frontier brain in charge of the battling tower back in the Kanto region.

"Anabel what are you doing here?" Ash asked as they both pushed themselves back to their feet.

"Steven contacted me last night to say that you would be here today and I decided I would come and help. Steven needs me on the island anyway so I thought this would kill two birds with one stone, I get a way back to the island and I get to help you save all these trainers. Right we can chat later Max looks like he's in trouble", Anabel answered pointing over to the are where Max is battling three trainers on his own and their attacks are getting stronger and stronger and even Max's newly evolved Gallade is having trouble blocking the attacks being sent at him.

"Yeah you're right lets go", Ash replied knocking two members of Team Infinta out their path with his aura as they moved off.

Ash and Anabel got half way to Ash before a huge explosion echoed round the stadium and Ash spun around looking towards the area that Luca had run earlier. It wasn't there anymore now only rubble remained something had destroyed. Ash spotted the culprit a few seconds later as he watched as huge creature stepped through the newly created entrance followed by Luca a few steps behind speaking into a head set.

"Ash what is that?" Anabel asked looking at the creature as well. It's just as Alan described it, a huge minotaur made of rocks he looks scary and powerful, Ash is going to have his work cut our for him he knows that, but he has to face him he might be the only one strong enough to beat him or if not hold him off long enough so everyone can escape on the carrier.

"Fissura one of the five Immortals that Team Infinta have managed to revive and now control. Anabel get to Max and tell him we've got to get everyone back to the carrier don't worry about fighting Team Infinta anymore the main objective is to get off this island as quick as we can", Ash answered.

"What are you going to do Ash?" Anabel asked.

"Distract him, Anabel don't worry about me just get to Max and help get everyone back to the carrier. Once everyone else is on board get the pilot to take off even if I'm not on board, get Max or Gary to call me and I'll catch up with you don't worry", Ash replied and Anabel nodded running off towards Max calling out her pokemon as Ash and his pokemon rushed back the way they came towards Fissura.

Ash told every trainer he passed to exit the stadium as quick as they can and head to the closest of the smaller stadiums and get on board the carrier waiting for them. Ash didn't give any of them time to argue he continued on chucking members of Team Infinta out of his way and into each other as he passed them. Ash can feel his aura growing stronger each time he uses it and he knows that today he's going to need it, he's got to keep Luca and Fissura distracted for long enough for Max and the others to get everyone on board the carrier.

Ash waited till he was about twenty metres away from Fissura who was firing off attacks at anyone close to him before he summoned a massive ball of aura of aura in both hands firing off balls of aura one after the other at Fissura. Fissura turned his head looking at Ash, but Ash kept on the offensive firing off small blades of aura instead. Lucario and the others joined in firing off their strongest attacks as well and they forced him back allowing any of the trainers close to him to run off joining the flow of trainers leaving the stadium. Ash kept up the attacks for another ten minutes switching to defence when needed blocking all attack fired at him while sneaking looks behind him every chance he got to see how many people were left in the stadium.

"Ash do you really believe you can beat us, your last fight against an Immortal didn't end well did it", Luca shouted across the gap between him and Ash.

Ash took another look behind him smiling as he saw that only he and Luca remained in the stadium along with some out cold members of Team Infinta. "Maybe not, but this time is different it's a fair fight. Last time I was on the defensive trying to save Misty, but now there's no one around it's just me and my pokemon verses you and Fissura let's see who's going to win shall we", Ash replied summoning a shield to protect him and his pokemon as Fissura fired a beam of energy from his mouth. Ash's shield held and as soon as Fissura's attack ended he let it drop taking the offensive again. "See last time I couldn't even take one attack from Umbra, but now I'm stronger and as long as I've got a reason to keep fighting I won't give up, can you say the same?", Ash added.

"Oh we'll see, Fissura lets show him some of your true power use Terra Fist", Luca cried and Fissura's fist started to glow and he fired off a fist of earth at Ash. Ash summoned a shield and the attack hit it. Ash smiled as the shield held, but he could feel that it was taking a lot just to keep it up, Fissura is just as strong as Umbra.

The attack ended and Ash let the shield drop taking three deep breath, "That all you got, I could do this all day", Ash shouted.

"Well sorry, but I haven't got all day so I think we should just wrap this up now, Fissura use Terra Fist again, but put everything into it, don't stop till the shield is down", Luca cried and Ash summoned another shield as Fissura's first glowed again and he fired off the attack. The attack hit the shield and it held, but Ash could see the attack was fighting to get through. Ash shield started to crack and he felt familiar fear and dread start to enter his body like it had done the day Umbra woke. Ash was sure the shield was about to give way, but Lucario pooled his aura and energy into it as well and Ash watched as the shield doubled in thickness and it started to push back against the attack. Any cracks in the shield soon disappeared as soon as they appeared and the shield continued to hold until the attack fizzled out.

Ash could feel his energy reserves lessening that shield had taken a lot out of him, maybe fighting directly isn't the way to go just yet, maybe Ash needs to take to the skies and draw him across the island away from the stadiums for long enough that the carrier can take off. Lucida said Ash would need her help to defeat the Immortals and she was right even when using all his power and going on the offensive he can see that he's at a disadvantage in a battle if it goes on for a long time, he's been battling for just under half and hour against Fissura and he's already on his last legs. "Guys we're going to have to try a different approach follow me", Ash said to his pokemon jumping onto Charizard's back. Pikachu jumped on as well as Charizard took off. Ash watched as Squirtle climbed on Pidgeot's back before Pidgeot took to the sky as well.

Ash flew over Fissura and Pidgeot did the same, Lucario and Sceptile separated each running past Fissura on either side racing after Ash through the remains of the side of the stadium that Fissura had destroyed. Ash looked back and was pleased to see that Luca had climbed onto Fissura and was no ordering Fissura to follow them. "Okay we've got to put some more distance between us and the stadiums before we start attacking from long range and using our speed to attack him while passing him continuously", Ash said into the microphone so that Lucario and Sceptile would also be able to hear him from their position running below Ash and his other four pokemon.

When Ash believe they were far enough from the stadium he got everyone to stop while they waited for Luca and Fissura to close the gap between them. "So Ash you going to continue to run are you? you and your friends ran away the day the Immortals awoke and it seems you're still doing it now", Luca shouted at the top of his voice so Ash could hear him from the spot Charizard was hovering above him.

"Actually I wasn't running away I was position you where I needed you, away from the stadiums. The others can deal with the other members of Team Infinta easily the only thing that could stop our plan from working is Fissura and now you're all the way across the island with me. Now let's get back to our battle, Charizard Flamethrower, Pikachu Thunderbolt, Squirtle Hydro Pump, Pidgeot Hurricane, Sceptile show him your speed pass him by and use Bullet Seed and finally Lucario fire off an Aura Sphere as you run past", Ash replied and his pokemon fired off all the attacks he ordered. They hit one after the other and Luca was sent flying off Fissura as he tried to block the attacks the best he could.

"Fissura fire a Hyper Beam at Charizard", Luca cried and Fissura obeyed firing off the attack, but Charizard was ready he dropped down towards the ground spinning in mid-air to avoid it. Ash grabbed hold of Charizard's neck with one hand while attempting to grab Pikachu with the other. He missed Pikachu and Pikachu fell away from Ash spinning out of control towards the floor.

"Pikachu", Ash screamed down towards his partner as he got closer and closer to the ground.

"Ash I've got him", Lucario's voice echoed inside Ash's head. Ash watched as Lucario took off jumping into the air as high as he could catching Pikachu in his arms landing back on the floor continuing on to keep the distance between him and Fissura. Charizard righted himself and Ash cheered as he looked down at Lucario placing Pikachu on the ground between him and Sceptile.

Ash watch started to beep and he pressed him hand to it answering the call coming through, "Hello."

"Ash we're all on board and we've taken off where are you?", Max's hologram said out of the watch.

"I'm on the other side of the island keep going I'll be there soon, keep an eye out for me and when you see me tell the pilot to turn off the cloaking shield and open the hatch on the bottom of the carrier so I can see you and fly aboard", Ash replied.

"Will do see you soon Ash", Max said ending the call.

"Well I guess I better get going, it's been a blast Luca, but I've got places to be and people to see, but I promsie we'll see each other again and we'll finish this", Ash said into the microphone.

"And what makes you think I'm going to let you leave", Luca shouted.

"You won't be able to stop me", Ash answered calling Squirtle to his pokeball. "Pidgeot get Pikachu, Lucario Aura Arrows", Ash continued and Pidgeot dove down Pikachu jumped onto his back as he passed and Pidgeot flew back up to Ash. Ash caught Pikachu when he jumped at him before calling back calling Pidgeot and Sceptile to their pokeballs after he placed Pikachu between his legs.

Ash watched as Lucario summoned a ball of aura firing it off above Fissura, the ball exploded and arrows of aura crashed down forcing Fissura to his feet. Luca started to scream attacks into his headset, but the aura arrows were keeping Fissura busy for the moment, but Ash knew it wouldn't last much longer so he used the small time advantage he had to call back Lucario and then tell Charizard to fly back towards the stadiums.

It took ten minutes before Ash caught up to the carrier and as Ash instructed it appeared as soon as Ash got close and he flew through the door on the bottom into the storage hold where Max and Gary were waiting for him. "Ash the mission was a complete success all the trainers are aboard and we even gained a few more allies who were in the crowd. Paul, Richie and Alec were a great help getting everyone to the carrier, they said they were just following your orders. Ash I've also got to thank you for the assist Anabel said you seen her and you were the one who sent her to help me", Max informed Ash.

"That's great. Max no worries about he assist that's what friends do, let's head up to the cockpit we need to put as much distance between us and this island Luca was mad when I left him. Have we heard anything from the other group?" Ash replied and his friends nodded at him as he called back Charizard heading towards the door that leads out of the storage area.

"Yeah I called May just before you revealed yourself, they were at the prison and the jamming device was ready to activate they were just waiting for the distraction by now they should of freed most of the prisoners and should soon be on the way back to the island as well", Max replied and Ash nodded.

"Good as long as nothing goes wrong today should be a perfect day overall, Bonnie and the others have made it to the island we've saved a good quantity of trainers from a trap and we should be freeing a larger number from prison as well. We've got to keep getting these little victories so that when we've finally reach the final battle we've got everything we need to come out on top. The resistance is growing which is great, but the true mission after today has to be collecting the stones and staff pieces to wake Lucida", Ash commented and both his friends nodded at him.

"We may of won this battle, but there's still a long way till we win the war", Gary admitted and both Max and Ash nodded at him as they moved into the cockpit.


	17. The Resistance Grows - Part 3

"Alright Max see you later, good luck", May said into her watch. Misty had been about to leave the room to get a few minutes quiet when Max had called. She changed her mind and stayed as she wanted to hear about what was going on over there. Well mostly she wanted to make sure Ash was okay and according to Max he seems to be doing okay.

"Same to you guys May", Max replied ending the call. Misty looked around at the rest of the people in the bridge of the heli-carrier with her and May. Dawn, Brock, Steven, Davis and Master Axel were all stood with them around a table which Steven has got the designs for the prison set up on.

"Well looks like everything is going okay over at the tournament right lets give it a few more minutes and then we send the message to our spy to activate the jamming device. Okay we better get everyone ready", Steven said and everyone nodded at him.

"Sounds good, I just hope everything keeps going okay both there and here", Misty replied and everyone nodded at her.

"Misty I know Ash will be okay, when we spoke this morning before we headed off I could tell something about him had changed. He's more focused; more determined I know he'll give everything he has to complete his mission because he's got something he needs to fight for, Misty that's you. He told me about something he dreamed about while he was in his coma and I won't betray his trust by telling you exactly what it was I'll just say it's scary and he's promised himself that he won't let it come to pass", Brock said and Misty looked at him.

"Brock what did he dream?" Misty asked.

"I promised him I wouldn't say Misty, he'll tell you when he's ready", Brock answered. Misty knew there was no point continuing the argument right at his moment because there more important things to be focusing on, but this isn't the end Misty get Brock to tell her what Ash dreamed about.

"Okay before we all join the groups we'll be in let's go over the plan one more time to make sure we're all sure about what we're supposed to be doing. So we'll be landing the carrier in the yard area in the centre of the prison and from there we'll go our separate ways to complete our tasks. Misty and Brock you'll be leading the group that consists of May and Dawn to the cells where you'll free everyone that Team Infinta has locked up", Steven said taking control of the conversation.

"Understood", Misty, Brock, May and Dawn all said together.

"Davis and Master Axel you two are in charge of the group whose focus is to collect all the pokeballs and belongings of the people locked up in the prison from the storage area that is located on the same side of the prison to the cells. Your group will start off with Misty's and Brock group when you leave this carrier, but once you come to the intersection show on this map you'll separate you'll go right and they'll go left", Steven continued.

"Understood", both Davis and Master Axel replied together.

"While the final group will be led by me and contains most of our strongest trainers we'll head to the opposite side of the prison where we'll join up with our spy who if everything goes to plan will have trapped most of the members of Team Infinta so we can take them out and try and learn anything we can from them. Although the plan is for most of the members of Team Infinta to be trapped by our spy some may slip through the net so keep on guard and if you see any members take them out before they raise the alarm and warn the rest of the members in the prison. Alright that's the plan gone over again let's head off to join the rest of the resistance members who after I signal the alarm to say we're about to attack the prison should be waiting for us in the storage area at the bottom of the carrier. Remember do you job and then get back to the carrier, don't come and look for my group. Contact us form the carrier and if we answer or don't turn up after a while take off and get back to the island leave us behind there's no point everyone being captured if more members of Team Infinta arrive at the prison. Once Ash gets away they'll send people here to make sure we don't free them as well, but hopefully we'll be long gone by then", Steven ended and everyone nodded following him out the bridge and through the corridors as the alarm sounded and people started to come out of the many rooms in the carrier joining them as they moved down to the storage area.

There was already a good quantity of people stood in the storage area when they reached including Meyer who as soon as they took off from the island retired to one of the rooms to get a few hours sleep so he be in a good shape to attack the prison. Misty can see he looks slightly better, but he's still not as his best. Misty moved over to him and Brock, May and Dawn followed her. "Meyer you look a lot better", Misty said and Meyer nodded at her.

"Thanks I'm still slightly tired, but a good night sleep tonight and I'll be fine again by tomorrow morning. I'm in your group today aren't I?" Meyer replied.

"Yeah Ash said you wanted to help free Clemont and that's what our group focus is to free everyone. Right here comes some more of our group", Misty answered as more people including Master Alexis joined them.

"Okay lets get everyone into their groups we attack in five minutes. Anyone assigned to help free the prisoners please stand on the left with Misty and Brock. Anyone assigned to help collect the prisoners possessions please join Master Axel and Davis in the middle and the rest please join me on this side", Steven shouted from the opposite side of the storage area to Misty and the others.

Everyone moved to join their groups and by the time the carrier landed inside the prison everyone was ready. The ramp lowered and Misty looked over at Steven who nodded. "Okay everyone in my group please follow me and Brock", Misty called as her and Brock moved over to the ramp and down. Misty heard Davis ask his group to follow him and soon his group joined the back of her group as they moved away from the carrier and across the yard till they reached the door that leads into the left side of the prison.

Misty and Brock continued to lead both groups through the prison till they reached the intersection where the two groups need to separate. Misty let her group move past her, Brock, May and Dawn waiting at the intersection as Davis and Master Axel approached them. "Okay well we better go our separate ways, good luck and we'll see you back at the carrier", Misty said.

"Yeah good luck yourself, see you soon", Davis replied as he moved down his corridor with his group.

"Come on we better get back to the front of our group", Brock said and all three girls nodded at him moving down their corridor moving past everyone in their group till they reached the front taking the lead again.

They didn't meet anyone on their way to the cells so the spy's plan to trap everyone in the other side of the prison seemed to have worked. "Okay everyone spread out let everyone out of the cells", Misty called and everyone in her group except Brock, May and Dawn moved off along the ground floor and up the stairs to the higher levels to different cell doors. Misty could see Meyer moving past doors on the ground floor checking the name tags on each one shaking his head before moving onto the next one. "I'm going to see if I can find my sisters", Misty said to Brock and both girls who nodded at her.

"I'm going to look for my family", Brock added.

"How about I go with Misty and help her find her sisters and Dawn you go with Brock to help him find his parents and siblings", May suggested and all three of them nodded at her. May and Misty went one way and Brock and Dawn went the other way.

Misty and May moved up the stairs to the second floor moving past the doors that were already being opened by members of their group. "Right we need to find my sisters, but we need to help open the other doors as well. May you take that side I'll take this one", Misty said and May nodded moving over to the opposite side opening the first door stepping in. Misty moved to the first door checking the name smiling as she opened the door stepping in.

Cynthia sat up on her bed a smile entering it slowly, "Misty you're alive", Cynthia whispered.

"Yep and I've come to free you", Misty replied as Cynthia got up from her bed moving over to the door hugging Misty, Misty returned the hug happy to see Cynthia in good shape, she allowed herself to be captured so they could get Ash off the island she owes Cynthia so much.

"Is Ash okay as well? They told us that everyone on the plane that you escaped on were dead", Cynthia asked.

"He's fine, he's leading another group freeing people from the trap they've set up at the tournament that was set up by the champions before Team Infinta took over and decided to use it to collect everyone who could stand against them", Misty replied.

"Thank god everyone here was told that you had been killed when your plane crashed during your attempted escape from the island in the Sinnoh region. Misty some of us took it quite well because we weren't sure it was one hundred percent the truth others didn't take it so well. Come on I'm sure time is short, lets free some more people", Cynthia said and Misty nodded releasing Cynthia from the hug stepping out the cell with Cynthia beside her.

"Misty I've found Daisy", May called from her side of the prison.

Misty closed the gap between them in five steps stopping in front of the cell ripping open the door letting out a cry of shock as she looked in at the form of her sister. Daisy is sat huddled in the corner of the room, her usual beautiful blonde hair is covered in dirt and Misty can see she's lost a lot of weight and she was very thin to begin with so now she looks like a skeleton with skin. Misty moved in kneeling down in front of Daisy, "Daisy can you hear me?" Misty asked.

Daisy lifted her head looking at Misty a look of confusion on her face, "Misty is that you?"

"Yeah it's me Daisy", Misty replied, Misty could hear Cynthia and May moving into the room they stopped by Daisy's bed giving Misty and Daisy some space.

"But you're dead, they told me", Daisy whispered and Misty wrapped her arms round her sister.

"They lied Daisy, I'm alive and well as is Ash and everyone else we were with", Misty replied thinking about what Cynthia said back in her cell about the fact she thought everyone on the plane was dead. Team Infinta told everyone that they were dead to stop them fighting back. If they think there's no one to stop Team Infinta then they'll just give up and Team Infinta will stay in control. "Come on lets get you up off the floor we're going to get you out of this prison today", Misty added and Daisy nodded letting Misty help her off the floor. Misty could see her sister grimacing every time she moved quickly realising she's in a lot of pain from her six weeks confined in this room she can't expect her to walk round the prison looking for Lily and Violet, it'll take most of her energy to get her back to carrier. "Let's just sit you down on the bed, I'll go find Violet and Lily and then we'll all go back to the carrier together how does that sound?" Misty asked.

"Okay, sounds good. I think they're both on the floor above this one", Daisy whispered as she sat down on the bed.

"Okay I'll try and be back as quick as I can", Misty replied to Daisy who nodded at her. Misty turned to May giving her a small smile, "May would you stay with me sister for me, I don't want her to be alone right now. Cynthia can help free the rest of the prisoners in your place", Misty said and May nodded.

"Course I can what are friends for, off you go me and Daisy will be fine", May replied and Misty gave her another smile before moving out the door spotting Brock running towards them.

"Misty have you found your sisters?" Brock asked as he stopped in front of them.

"I've found Daisy, but she's in a bad way. I've left May to keep her company I'm going to find Violet and Lily now, Daisy believes they're on the floor above this one", Misty replied.

"I'm guessing it's due to the fact they believed we were dead. I don't understand why the spy we placed her didn't report that back to us or why he didn't tell everyone here that we were alive. My family have spent the last six weeks believe I died and they've been in pieces, I've told Dawn and some of the people we brought with us to take anyone we've freed back to the carrier and get them checked over by the medical staff we brought with us. Come I'll help you find your other two sisters", Brock said and Misty nodded.

"Right I'll continue on this floor and we'll meet up again once you've found your other two sisters", Cynthia said and both Misty and Brock nodded at her moving in the opposite direction to Cynthia moving up the first staircase they found.

As they reached the top of the stairs one of their group skidded to a stop in front of them, "Um I was actually coming to find you guys. I've found one of Misty's sisters her name is Violet her cell is over there", the guy started pointing over to a cell where a group of people were gathered looking inside. "When we tried to get her out of the cell she went crazy and started to hit anyone that got to close and then started to scream she's not coming with me until she is sure that we're the good guys. I think it would be best if we leave her to you, she might calm down once she sees you."

"Thank you; keep freeing everyone else on this floor. My other sister Lily should be around here somewhere as well, once you find her come and find us again don't open the cell it would be best if she is left to us as well, my other sister Daisy isn't in a good shape either I don't want to upset Lily anymore than needs to be", Misty replied and the guy nodded at her moving off again.

Misty and Brock moved over to the cell and everyone stepped out the way to let them pass, "No need to stay here anymore, move onto the next set of cells we've got this one", Brock said and everyone nodded at him moving off.

Misty looked in at Violet who was stood with her back to them taking a deep breath before stepping in, Violet spun around her fist raised ready to start shaking at her, but as soon as she saw her she let them drop. "Misty you're alive", Violet screamed closing the gap between them wrapping her arms round Misty. Misty returned the hug smiling happy to find the second of her sisters.

"Violet I'm glad you're okay, I found Daisy and she's not doing very well", Misty whispered.

"I know I want to help her, but the guards won't let me. She won't come out the cell and when they let me out for my twenty minutes a day exercise they purposely walk me past her cell and leave the door open so I can see her, but not help her. Lily wants to help as well, but they won't let her either", Violet said and Misty nodded.

"Well no more, I'm getting all three of you out this prison and off this island and back to somewhere safe", Misty replied letting go of Violet.

"Misty they said you were dead since you're not and you've not been seen these last six weeks mind telling me where have you been these last six weeks?" Violet asked.

"Somewhere safe, once we're off this island I'll explain we don't want to be overheard. Team Infinta haven't found us yet as they don't know where we are located and we want to keep it that way", Misty answered.

"Okay I'll wait", Violet replied.

"Right why don't you head down and join May and Daisy in her cell while we find Lily", Misty suggested and Violet nodded moving with Misty out the door joining Brock who was talking to the same guy who told them about Violet's cell. "Have you found Lily?" Misty asked.

"Yeah she's in the cell at the end, we've freed everyone else on this level, we're going to move to the next floor now" the guy answered and Misty nodded at him watching as he moved off.

"I'll go and join Daisy and tell her you've found Lily and that you'll be joining us again soon", Violet said and Misty nodded at her sister watching as she across the floor over to the staircase that Misty and Brock came up to reach this floor.

"Right lets go get Lily out the cell shall we", Brock suggested and Misty nodded moving off next to him. "Misty we've not had much time to talk since I got back yesterday with everything going on. How are you doing now that Ash is awake?"

"Oh I'm fine Brock, I'm happy he's awake", Misty replied.

"But…" Brock added.

"You know me so well Brock there was a but coming, but because of the fact I had to sit next to his bed for six weeks not sure if he would wake up, now that he is awake I worry every moment that we're apart that I'll lose him again and this time for good", Misty replied.

"Misty that's understandable I feel the same way, I know the relationship me and Ash as isn't the same as the one you have, but I do deeply care for him and I worry that he'll get in trouble again. Misty I wasn't there on the island with you when Ash took Umbra's attack and I'm angry with myself for that, maybe I could of helped stop Umbra or made it so that Ash never had to stop the attack maybe I could of got you out of the way of the attack instead. Misty we have to believe that Ash is strong enough to keep fighting and to come back to us. I believe he's okay right now and I know we'll see him again later come on we've reached your sisters cell let's get her out of here and go and join May, Daisy and Violet", Brock replied and Misty nodded. Brock right he cares about Ash just as much as she does and she has to believe Ash will come back to her, they both have missions to do today and she knows Ash will be giving his mission his all so she should to.

Misty let Brock open the door to Lily's cell and as soon as he did Misty looked in smiling as she watched her final sister spot her as Lily sat up in her bed before jumping off the bed rushing towards Misty wrapping her arms round her. "Misty I know they were wrong about you dying", Lily whispered a few tears splashing down on Misty's shirt.

"Team Infinta wanted to break your soul and it seemed telling you I was dead was the best way they could achieve that. If I had known what they were saying the resistance would of come straight away, but we thought that for now until we were a bit stronger the best thing to do was to leave you here and attack when the moment was right and we had the best chance to free everyone and not end up in here with you instead", Misty explained.

"It's okay Misty, you came and you've saved me. Is Ash here with you?" Lily asked.

"No he's off saving a different set of people in another location I'll explain more once we're off this island you never know who is listening", Misty replied and Lily nodded. "Right now that we've got you lets get back to Daisy's cell and start to get you, Daisy and Violet back to our carrier that will get us off this island", Misty added.

"Sounds good, how is Daisy?" Lily asked they both let go of each other, Lily spotted Brock and she moved over to him giving him a hug before thanking him for looking after Misty and helping her free all three sisters.

"Sore and slightly beaten down, but she's getting better now she knows that Team Infinta were lying", Misty replied moving off with Brock and Lily the way they came.

"Stop in the name of Team Infinta", Misty spun around for the owner of the voice spotting a woman stood a few feet away, she must of evaded capture and has been waiting for the right moment to show herself.

"Brock get Lily back to Daisy and the others I'll deal with her", Misty cried and Brock nodded.

"Come on Lily I'll come back and help your sister in a minute", Brock explained and Lily nodded moving off with Brock as fast as they could go.

"So Misty here you are, six weeks you've been alluding us and now you show your face thanks for saving us the trouble of having to transport you here now we can just save time and lock up straight away", the woman called across the gap between them.

"Sorry, but I don't think so, out you come Buizel", Misty replied. Misty had asked Ash if she could borrow a few of his pokemon after he returned from the ship carrying Serena and the others as half her pokemon wouldn't be any help inside the prison. They're strongest with a water supply nearby and there isn't one of them inside the prison right now. Ash had been more than happy and he called Professor Oak and asked him to bring up Buizel and Corphish for Misty to use.

"So you want to battle well okay, out you come Chesnaught", the woman cried and her Chesnaught appeared in front of her. "Chesnaught use needle arm."

"Buizel dodge it", Misty cried. Chesnaught ran towards Buizel it's arm spikes glowing, Buizel waited till the last second before jumping over Chesnaught's head landing behind him. "Now use ice punch", Misty called and Buizel slammed his fist into Chesnaught's back. Misty watched as the ice began to spread across his body till he was stuck in place. "Buizel get in front of him and then use water gun", Misty added and Buizel nodded jumping in front of Chesnaught firing off a powerful water gun that blasted Chesnaught off his feet still in his frozen state and into the woman from Team Infinta knocking her off her feet. Misty heard her head hit the floor and know she was out cold.

Misty heard footsteps behind her and watched as May and Brock skidded to a stop in front of her. "Oh you've beaten her already", Brock stated and Misty nodded.

"Yep now help me put her in a cell with her Chesnaught", Misty asked and both of them nodded at her. May called out her Blaziken and Brock called out his Swampert who between them carried the still frozen Chesnaught into an empty cell nearby. May and Brock between them carried the woman into the cell placing her down on the bed before moving out allowing Misty to close and lock the door so she couldn't get out.

"Is that Ash's Buizel?" May asked pointing at Buizel who is still stood in the same place he landed after the water gun and Misty nodded calling him back to the pokeball.

"Yeah Ash lent him to me along with Corphish just encase I needed to battle anyone. How are my sisters?" Misty replied.

"They're fine; they're on the way back to the carrier as we speak. Right we need to check the last of the cells and then we need to head back to the carrier ourselves", Brock answered and both Misty and May nodded moving over to the staircase moving to the next floor.

"Have there been any more members of Team Infinta trying to stop anyone?" Misty asked.

"Yeah about ten, but they've all been defeated. One tried to stop Dawn and my family from getting away, but Dawn stopped them and in the process it seems her Quilava has evolved she sounded really pleased when she called me to say they were back at the carrier and my family were being looked over. It seems Iris and Cilan have been freed and have made it back to the carrier as well so we're doing well. I've asked the men I sent your sisters back with to get Dawn to call us once they arrive", Brock answered.

"What about Meyer, has he found Clemont?" Misty asked.

"Yes and they're back at the carrier as well, we passed Cynthia, Diantha and Alder so it seems we've got all the champions freed now as well so it's all good news. There hasn't been any news from Steven, but Davis's group has made it back to the carrier and they also met a few members of Team Infinta, but they locked them up in the storage area so they can't get out and cause anymore trouble", Brock explained.

"Right let's get these last cells checked I want to get back to the carrier and spend a bit of time with my sisters", Misty said and both May and Brock nodded joining her moving to the next closed cell opening it looking inside.

It took another twenty minutes before they had freed the last prisoners, but finally Misty, Brock and May joined the end of the line of people moving back through the prison towards the carrier. Misty had received a call from Dawn ten minutes ago saying her sisters had reached the carrier and we now getting checked over by the medical staff.

Misty's watch started to beep and she answered it watching as Ash appeared out of it. "Ash, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine Misty; I just called to see how you were doing. My group is already on the way back to the island we got everyone off the island and annoyed Team Infinta a bit in the process so it's great", Ash replied.

"We've freed the last of the prisoners and now we're heading back to the carrier, Davis's group got all the prisoners possessions and are now back on the carrier. We've not heard from Steven, but I'm sure that he's okay", Misty explained and Ash nodded.

"That's great news", Ash cried.

"Yeah it is, only problem is all the prisoners aren't in great shape including my sister Daisy. She's lost a lot of weight and she's in serious pain, they told everyone here were dead and they believed it. Ash why didn't the spy tell us this", Misty asked.

"That's horrible, Misty I don't know why the spy didn't mention it, when Steven gets back to the carrier ask him see if he can answer it for you. If he know I'm sure he had a good reason not to say anything, he's a good guy he wouldn't let them suffer if he could help it", Ash replied and Misty nodded.

"Okay I better go, we're nearly back at the carrier", Misty explained and Ash's hologram nodded.

"See you soon Misty, love you", Ash replied.

"Love you to Ash", Misty countered ending the call moving up the ramp turning back around as she heard the sound of a large quantity of footsteps moving towards them. Misty watched as Steven rushed up the ramp quickly followed by the rest of his group.

"Steven I need to talk to you", Misty informed Steven.

"In a minute, Misty I'm pretty sure what this is about, we've got to get out of here. Although the jammer stopped Team Infinta from broadcasting out of here, it didn't stop them broadcasting to the prison. They're coming and they're bringing three of the Immortals we've got to get out of here fast someone go and tell the pilot to take off", Steven replied and May nodded running across the storage area and out the door.

"Steven the prisoners thought me, Ash and the others were dead how could you allow that to happen", Misty said fighting to keep her voice calm.

"I know Misty and I tried to find a way to get the spy we planted in the prison to tell them, but he was always with a member of Team Infinta so he couldn't say anything without giving away he was a spy. Misty we got them out the prison and they know the truth now. If I had told you what they had been told before you would have rushed here and got captured and then the plan to free everyone would never have worked as they would be expecting us. Misty I'm sorry that your sisters believe that you were dead for six weeks", Steven replied and Misty gave a small nod.

"Okay I guess Ash was right you're a good person and you did everything you could."

"You've spoken to Ash, how did his mission go?" Steven asked.

"Great they're on the way back to the island with everyone from the tournament so it seems we've had a good day overall. Steven I'm sorry about having a go at you, I'm going to go find my sisters now we'll talk more about what happened in our separate part of the prison later", Misty answered.

"Sure see you soon Misty, I'll be in the bridge when you've finished catching up with your sisters", Steven replied and Misty nodded.

"I'll come with you Misty I want to find my family and see how they are as well", Brock said and Misty nodded moving over to the door together.


	18. A Call For Help

"So this is where the resistance has been using as a base since Team Infinta took over", Ritchie said from his position to the left of Ash who nodded at him.

"It's beautiful, I've always wanted to come here for a holiday, but the battle tower never really allows me the time to take a holiday so I never got the chance, but now here I am", Anabel added from Ash's right.

"You've not seen anything yet, the most amazing parts of the island are underground. The holiday part of the island is just the cover; the champions put most of their effort into making the underground the best functioning base you could ask for. We're going to get a little cramped now with everyone from the tournament and from the prison arriving here so we'll have to start to use the accommodation above ground for some people at night, but most of the time we'll be underground anyway discussing our next step", Ash explained and both of them smiled at him.

"I can't wait to land then", both Ritchie and Anabel replied together.

Most of the occupants of the carrier are dotted around the rooms relaxing after a hard morning's work, but Ash has spent the journey thinking about his next step in the bridge. At different interval during the journey back Max, Lana, the former trio of Team Rocket, Gary, Paul, Alec and now Ritchie and Anabel have joined Ash and helped him to think about his next step while also talking about a few other things.

The hunt for the stones and staff pieces need to resume Ash is just not sure where to start and has decided to wait till Misty and Brock make it back to the island and go from there. Ash had allowed Ritchie and Anabel drag him over to one of the windows where they were now looking towards their nearing island destination.

Ash heard the pilot talking to the command center down on the island, but he wasn't taking any notice of what was being said until his name was called by the pilot, "Mr Ketchum", Ash turned moving over to where the pilot was sat looking at him. "A message from the command center as soon as we land you need to head there they've got two situations that require your attention", the pilot continued and Ash nodded to confirm he understood.

"Okay tell them I'll be there as soon as I can", Ash replied and the pilot nodded speaking to the communication system. "Guys I'm going to have to leave you. Find Max and he'll help you get down into the base. Once I'm finished with these situations we'll catch up some more", Ash explained and both of his friends nodded.

"That's fine Ash, duty calls I still can't believe you've been named champion", Ritchie replied.

"Temporary champion", Ash corrected.

"Ash I think we all know that it's not temporary not anymore. We need strong champions to guide us and who better to guide us than the one person who can stop the Immortals. Ash I've seen you skills first hand and I know you can do this now off you go see you soon", Anabel added and Ash nodded moving across the bridge and out the door.

Ash descended down the level of the carrier till he reached the storage area moving over to the ramp ready for it to drop when they land. Ash heard the speaker in the corner crackle before the pilot's voice echoed through it, "We're about to land on the island in under a minute, for all new arrivals we'll be exiting the carrier in groups of ten just encase the island is being watched the carrier will remain invisible so be quick and try not to make a scene just encase. Please head to the main building where you'll be met by member of the resistance who will show you where to go. If you could please make your way to the storage area we'll get underway Mr Oak and Master Maple will be in charge of sending the groups so please wait for them to send you."

Ash felt the carrier land a little under a minute later and he heard the engines power down before the ramp lowered. Ash rushed down the ramp leaving the carrier, Ash looked back and even though he knew there was a ship it's strange to be able to see the end of the runway. Ash reached the main building moving through the door nodding at the people waiting for the occupants from the ship moving over to the lift. In the six weeks between when the Immortals rose and when Ash woke up the entrance to the underground was changed slightly, the thumb print scanner is still there for Ash and the other champion, but now new personal codes has been entered into the system for every person who needs regular admittance to the underground base.

Ash pressed his thumb to the scanner typing in his code stepping to into the lift once the door opened. The lift descended and Ash rushed out as it reached the bottom moving to the door leading into the communication room. Everybody turned to look at Ash as he stepped in and Ash got the conversation underway, "I was told to come here there was something that needed me attention" Ash explained.

"Yeah there are actually two things, but we'll focus on the most important first. Starting out two hours ago we started to receive word from our people in Hoenn that there a group of people in need of extraction from Mauville City and soon. Team Infinta has realised that they are in league with the resistance and now wants to get rid of them", the head supervisor answered.

"So we've got to get to them and fast before Team Infinta catches up with them", Ash said and the supervisor nodded.

"Yes we do, I've told them we'll contact them once we're on our way with an extraction location and time", the supervisor added.

"Okay well I'm guessing it's going to take half an hour to an hour before everyone is off the carrier and then it'll take another two or three hours before it's ready to take off again and then a few hours to reach Hoenn we're talking late tonight before we would be able to pick them up. I need to talk to Steven as I've got an idea how we can use the visit to Hoenn for something else as well. I need to see what he says before we reply to our people in Hoenn, what's the other situation that requires my attention?

"The prisoner is asking for you to visit, when we told him you weren't here he went crazy he went quiet about an hour ago, but he still asking to see you once you return", the supervisor replied.

"Okay once I've spoken to Steven, I'll go and visit him to see what he wants. I'll make the call outside and come back in with the answer before I head to see Edward", Ash explained and the supervisor nodded.

Ash moved out the communication room closing the door behind him moving slightly down the corridor so the noise from the people coming out of the lifts is nearly non existent. "Call Steven", Ash said into his watch and it started to buzz a few seconds later continuing till Steven answered and his hologram appeared out the watch instead.

"Ash what's up?"

"Steven we've got a situation back here at the island, there's been a call for help from some of our people in the Hoenn region", Ash answered.

"Okay so we need to prep an extraction team as soon as possible. How long have you been back on the island?" Steven asked.

"We've only just got back, we're still getting everyone off the carrier so I'm guessing it's going to take a few hours till we're ready to leave again", Ash answered.

"It will and by then me and the others will be back as well. Ash I'm going to come as well, I've got experience doing extractions", Steven said and Ash nodded at his hologram.

"That's fine, the reason I called Steven is that I have an idea. Since we're heading to the Hoenn region why don't we kill two birds with one stone? Steven I need to restart my visit to the temples holding the keystones and staff pieces and the one in Hoenn is located close to one of the possible locations we could use to extract our people from the region", Ash explained and Steven nodded.

"Ash you're right we need you to get the stones and staff pieces and there's no point travelling to Hoenn and not using that opportunity to visit the temple. Ash form a team to come with you to the temple and have them ready to take off when I get back", Steven replied and Ash smiled.

"Thanks Steven I've got my team already in my mind, we'll talk more when you get back", Ash answered and Steven nodded ending the call. Ash moved back along the corridor to the communication room watching as Max, Anabel and Ritchie spotted him as they exited the lift.

"Ash there you are", Max called moving over to Ash with Ritchie and Anabel. "Anabel said that you left the ship first as you were needed in the communication room", Max added.

"I was. I just need to nip back inside for less than a minute I'll explain in a minute and then you can give Ritchie and Anabel the tour. I need to go and visit Edward anyway", Ash replied.

"You're visiting Edward, why?" Max asked.

"He's been asking for me, he went crazy once they told him I wasn't here. I'm just going to see him so he'll shut up for a bit", Ash replied and Max nodded.

"Who's Edward?" Ritchie asked.

"A traitor, we thought he was on our side by it turns out he's actually part of Team Infinta and had been passing on all the information Lana and her dad had found out about the Immortals to the leaders of Team Infinta that's how they found the Immortals and freed them from the temples they were placed in", Ash explained.

"So he's the reason we at war right now", Anabel clarified and Ash nodded.

"Well he's part of the reason we're at war, every member of Team Infinta is to blame not just him. Right I'll be back in a moment", Ash replied opening the door stepping in, the supervisor turned to him and Ash smiled. "Call our people in Hoenn and tell them we'll be on our way in a few hours, we'll call them once we're closer to Hoenn to tell them where to meet us for their extraction."

"Will do, I'll also alert the pilot that there's another mission today, I'll get some people above ground to help him prep the carrier and to find a group of people to come on the extraction with you", the supervisor replied and Ash nodded stepping out the room again rejoining his friends again.

"Okay that's all sorted, right as promised I'll explain why I was called down here so urgently. We've received a call from our people in Hoenn there's a group of people who need an urgent extraction as Team Infinta has realised that they are in league with us"

"That's not good, are we sending a team to help them?" Max asked.

"Yes we're going to send a team as soon as Steven is back and the carrier is ready to go, Max I want you to come if you're up for it and not too tired from this morning's mission. You were great back at the tournament and I think you'll be helpful later as we're going to head to the next temple while we're in Hoenn as well. I'm sure they'll have put guards at each temple so we'll have to take them so I can get to the last room and collect the keystone and staff piece and you've become a great trainer recently", Ash answered.

"Sure I would love to come, who else is coming? I'm guessing Misty and Brock" Max replied and Ash nodded.

"Yep and add in Lana and Alan as well so that brings us to five, there were loads of options for the final three spots including you two Ritchie and Anabel, but I was worried that after everything that's happened you would be exhausted. In the end it came to me and I decided on three people who seems to be able to keep going no matter what's thrown at them Jessie, James and Meowth. I wasn't sure about them this morning, but they were great at the tournament and I want to give them a fair chance so I'm going to ask them", Ash answered. Ash could see Ritchie and Anabel were disappointed not to be going with Ash, but they understood Ash's reasons.

"Ash sounds like a great team, well I'm going to continue this tour we'll catch up later, be careful with Edward what ever he wants it can't be good", Max warned Ash.

"I know Max, but I've got him covered don't worry see you soon", Ash replied and Max nodded moving off with Anabel and Ritchie.

Ash lifted his watch closer to his mouth telling it to call Misty as he moved off. Misty answered after a few buzzes and her hologram appeared out the watch and Ash got right to the point. "Misty I'm not sure if you've seen Steven yet, but there's another mission heading out in a few hours to the Hoenn region. There's a group of people who need to be extracted before Team Infinta catches them, but while we're there I'm going to visit the temple and grab the stone and staff piece once you land as Steven wants to come and help extract everyone", Ash explained.

"And so you want to see if I'm going to come as well", Misty said and Ash nodded at the watch. "Ash I don't know if I can, my sisters are in a bad state and they need me", Misty added.

"Misty Ash needs you as well, go we'll be okay we're going to spend the night in the infirmary anyway we can catch up tomorrow morning we're all tired anyway", Ash heard Violet say in the background.

"Well it seems they don't need me tonight so I'm in", Misty answered. Ash heard the door open and walk into the room on Misty's end.

"Misty are you talking to Ash?" Ash heard Brock ask and Misty's hologram nodded. "Oh what's going on?" Ash heard Brock ask.

"He's going on another mission to Hoenn", Misty answered.

"When?" Brock asked.

"As soon you guys land, Steven wants to come as well, we're doing an extraction and at the same time I'm going to head to the temple in Hoenn and collect the items that are located inside. I've asked Misty and Max already and they've both agreed to come, so Brock are you in as well?" Ash answered.

"Course, I told you I would be with you every step of the way all you needed to do was ask. Who else is coming with us to the temple?" Brock replied.

"Well like usual Lana and Alan and then I thought as Jessie, James and Meowth. They proved themselves to me this morning so I thought I would give them another chance to prove to me that they've turned over a new leaf", Ash answered.

"Sounds good Ash, right I only came into check that everyone was okay in here, I'm going to head back to my family. See you when we get back Ash", Brock announced.

"Okay Brock, see you soon", Ash replied and he heard the door open and close again on Misty's end.

"Misty I would love to continue this conversation, but I've got a lot of things to do so I'm ready to leave when you get back so I'm going to have to go, but before I do I just want to say I love you and I can't wait to see you, I've missed you today", Ash announced as he reached the door to Edward's cell, the guards stepped apart so Ash could enter.

"I've missed you to, Ash I love you too and I can't wait to be back with you again", Misty replied and Ash smiled and Misty's hologram smiled as well.

"Bye Misty love you", Ash said.

"Bye Ash love you too", Misty countered ending the call.

Ash opened the door stepping in, Edward was in the same position he been in the day before when Ash had visited him. Edward looked up as the springs on his bed creaked as Ash sat down on it. "So you've got time to see me now, I've been asking for you all day", Edward barked.

"Sorry Edwards, but I wasn't around I was busy", Ash replied.

"Doing what?" Edward asked.

"Using the information you gave me yesterday, I made a quick visit to the island the tournament was being held on and helped everyone who had been lured there off the island and back here to safety", Ash replied not bothering to keep the joy out of his voice.

"So you think by freeing everyone from there you've got the upper hand, but you haven't you had one small victory. You may of saved the people from there, but Team Infinta still has all those people in the prison we hold", Edward replied and Ash couldn't help, but let a few chuckles escape his lips. "What's so funny?" Edward shouted jumping to his feet holding his chest obviously still feeling the effects of Ash's exit yesterday.

"Well I said I had gone to the tournament, but I'm only one of the leaders of the resistance. Steven is another and he headed off to the prison with Misty, Brock and half of the resistance. Their mission was as successful as mine and everyone from the prison is now on the way back here as well. Two victories in one day and they may only be small ones in the grand scale, but small things add up bit by bit until they form the one victory we want overall. The defeat of the Immortals and Team Infinta. Tonight we'll be one step closer to that goal", Ash answered.

Ash watched Edward think about what he said before he replied, "You're going to one of the temples to grab the stone and staff piece. Well it won't be easy if they've followed the plan that was set in place there should be people there to guard the temple and stop you from getting to the final room."

"I don't worry I'll get into the final room", Ash answered.

"I think you will too, I think I underestimated you and I have a feeling my fellow members of Team Infinta are probably still underestimating you even after the events of today. Maybe I chose the wrong side in this war.", Edward replied.

"I've answered all the questions you've asked so far now maybe you'll answer one question for me", Ash replied ignoring the last part of Edwards's reply completely certain he's up to something.

"Sure what is it?" Edward replied.

"Well Edward there's been something that's been bothering me the last twenty four hour since I was told that Team Infinta are guarding the temples. Why are you guarding them? You've shown you're not against blowing temples up. Why are these temples still standing, but the temples that held the Immortals destroyed?" Ash asked.

"Ah I was wondering if you would bring that up, but now that you have I'll answer it maybe you'll remember how helpful I've been in the future if you do end up winning this war. The reason that the temples that hold the staff pieces and keystones still stand is because we're not stupid enough to believe we can control the Immortals forever. A time may come when we need Lucida to be woken and the only way to do that is with the items that are located in those temples so they still stand, but protected so only when we feel it's time for Lucida to wake will we allow you her champion into the temples to claim the items that lay inside", Edwards answered.

"If you still need me to wake Lucida if the needs arises, why was Bellatrix so happy when she nearly killed me on the island where Umbra temple was located?" Ash asked.

"Well the plan was to capture you, but if she believes that there was no way that you would join us or even help us with our plan that she had permission to get rid of you. Ash Alan never told you this, but on one occasion when Immortals rose in the past Lucida's first chosen hero didn't succeed in waking her so upon their death at the hands of her family she chose a new hero who finished the work the first one had completed and woke her. Ash if you had died, a new hero would have been chosen and we would of made sure that they joined us and did as we asked. We always had a back up plan", Edward answered.

"Shame that I'm not going to fail then isn't it, Edward it's been lovely talking to you again, but some of us have places to go and things to do", Ash said pushing himself off the bed, he's got everything he needs to know so what's the point of staying any longer.

"I'm not finished yet, sit back down", Edward shouted.

"No", Ash replied moving over to the door knocking on it twice to signal that he wants to come out. "Edward I would of thought you learnt your lesson yesterday", Ash said spinning around facing Edward who had pulled himself off the floor and he was holding his chest with one hand while the other clenched in a fist at his side. Ash summoned a ball of aura in his hand and he could see Edward eye's flick to it, his fist unclenched and he slid back down the wall to the floor. The door opened behind Ash and he stepped out backwards keeping his eyes on Edward till he was outside and the guards closed the door again.

Right now that's all dealt with, now to focus on having everything ready for the mission when Misty and the others get back Ash thought to himself as he moved off away from Edward's cell heading for the room Alan is sharing with Lana and his wife.


	19. Misty's Worries

Misty felt a hand land on her shoulder and she jumped up into the air in fright. Misty turned looking at Ash who was stood next to her. "Sorry Misty didn't mean to make you jump", Ash apologised.

"No worries I was in my own world then", Misty replied.

"Thought you might of been, I did call to you, but you didn't answer", Ash explained.

"Sorry, what did you want to tell me?" Misty asked.

"Just that we're about to land and we need to get down to the storage area. They want to do a quick landing and then head off just encase anyone is nearby", Ash replied and Misty nodded. "Are you okay Misty? you've been distant since we took off, are you worried about your sisters?" Ash added.

"No it's not my sisters, it's nothing just me being silly that's all don't worry Ash", Misty replied and Ash nodded giving her a small smile which she returned.

Misty can't tell Ash what's up as she doesn't want him to think she's being silly. It all started just before they took off from the island. Ash was talking to Alec about something and Max and Brock were chatting to May and her parents so Misty was sat on one of the seats in the airport waiting for them to leave when Anabel sat down next to her.

She didn't have a clue who she was till she introduced herself as Anabel. Both Brock and Ash had told her about Anabel when they separately told her about their journey round the Kanto region when Ash was challenging the Battle Frontier. Anabel sounded like a nice person so she was glad to finally get the chance to meet her and talk to her, but she hadn't been expecting what was to come.

She knew about Serena's feelings for Ash and Ash told her that he only likes her as a friend, she thought that was the only competition she had for Ash's affections, but it seems not. Anabel explained that she did like Ash more than a friend and up to the moment she found out that Misty and Ash were together she had meant to tell Ash how she felt. But now she's knows about Misty and Ash she's not going to say anything as she can see that both Misty and Ash love each other with all their hearts and are meant to be together. Anabel asked Misty not to say anything to Ash because she really wants to remain friends with him and for things not to be awkward and Misty agreed mostly because she doesn't want it to come up again.

Misty knows she's being silly and that Ash loves her and only her, but she's worried how many other people has Ash met that after getting to know him have fallen in love with him. Is there a whole group of people out there wanting to be with Ash and will some of them do whatever it takes to break her and Ash up. Ever since the day on the island when Umbra attacked, Misty's had the overwhelming fear that she's going to lose Ash in one way or another. She knows Ash loves her and in time the fear of losing Ash will lessen she doesn't know if it will ever go away completely, but she'll learn to live with it in time.

"Misty you know you can tell me anything that's worrying you no matter how small", Ash whispered sliding his hand into Misty's.

"Yeah I know, I love you so much Ash Ketchum you're the only man for me", Misty replied.

"And you're the only girl for me Misty, I love you and I always will", Ash countered and Misty smiled leaning forward kissing Ash on the lips that's all she needed to hear. She knows is just being silly she should just leave those worries behind and focus on helping Ash to end this war so they can get back to a normal life and a happy future together so that's what she's going to do.

"Come on lets go and join the others and head down to the storage area ready to make our quick exit", Misty said and Ash nodded letting Misty lead him out the room.

Max and Brock joined them as they reached the end of the corridor and reached the lift stepping inside pressing for the bottom floor. Jessie, James, Meowth, Lana and Alan were waiting for them with Steven in the storage area, they all smiled as Misty and the others stepped out the lift moving over to them. "Okay the carrier will be parked to the north of the desert so as soon as you've got the items from the temple head in that direction. If a quick exit is needed call the carrier and we'll be there as soon as we can understood?" Steven said and everyone nodded at him.

"Thanks Steven, be careful on your side mission as well, get what you need and get out of there as quick as you can. Keep your guard up while you're waiting for the people we're supposed to be extracting you never know how many members of Team Infinta are moving around in the areas you're visiting", Ash replied and Steven nodded.

Once they had taken off from the island Steven called Misty, Brock, Max and Ash to the bridge where he explained one of the reasons he decided to come with them. He needed to make a few quick visits to a set of locations around the region so he can check on some old friends and gain some advice and help from them.

"I will Ash, right everyone get ready we're descending", Steven said.

Ash and Misty moved over to the ramp and the others moved to stand behind them. The carrier landed and Misty listened as the engines lowered slightly, but not as much as usual just enough to allow them to exit the carrier without the winds coming off the engine causing them any serious issues. The ramp lowered and Ash and Misty moved down the ramp leading the rest of the group as quick as they could leaving the confines of the invisibility surrounding the carrier. "Come on the desert should only be ten minutes walk if we walk at top speed", Ash stated picking up the pace slightly, Misty lifted her speed as well so she wouldn't lose grip of Ash's hand.

Everyone except Ash had been given a new set of black clothes consisting of a pair of black combat trousers, a black t-shirt and a black jacket with a hood to cover their head so that they won't be easy to spot. Ash just reversed the clothes his mum made him and unzipped the hood from it's hiding place pulling it over his head. Pikachu had even been given a little black hoody by Delia so he wouldn't be easy to spot by anyone while he's at his usual place on Ash's shoulder. Misty has to admit it makes Pikachu look cuter than ever.

Ash had lent Misty another one of his pokemon to go with Corphish and Buizel, one that should be quite useful in the desert Krookodile. Misty realises she's got to catch a few more strong pokemon for herself that can be useful in battle anywhere not just near a water source. She is a water trainer, but maybe she needs to compromise and while they're battling Team Infinta she needs to branch out and catch any strong pokemon she finds no matter what type they are.

No one spoke one word as they travelled the distance from their drop point to the start of the desert. Ash let his back pack slid off his shoulder and he unzipped it. Misty looked inside seeing a few rations of food and water for everyone, the two keystones and staff pieces plus nine set of googles which he pulled out handing them around to everyone. Misty watched as Ash pulled his hood down pulling the googles over his head positioning them comfortably over his eyes lifting his hood again. Misty placed hers on as well and watched as everyone else did the same.

"Okay if we keep to a forty five degree bearing we should reach the temple in just over an hour. Keep close to your buddy I don't want anyone to get lost alone in here. If you do get separated from the rest keep going to the temple and we'll re-join there don't try and look for the rest of us it'll take to long and will probably do more harm than good if you get lost", Ash said and Misty and the others nodded at him. Misty and Ash are one pair, Brock is with Max, Lana is with her dad and the ex trio of Team Rocket are another.

Ash and Misty moved into the desert together and Misty turned watching as the rest followed. Misty turned back to face the way they were heading surprised at how quickly it was becoming harder to see where they were going as the sand blowing around them increased. Misty felt Ash's grip on her hand increase and she gave his hand a little squeeze watching as he turned giving her a little smile which she returned.

They managed to make it to the temple in just over and hour and surprisingly they didn't lose anyone on the way. Ash had spotted the members of Team Infinta first and told everyone to get down so now they're lying down on a dune of sand looking down at the temple placed at the bottom. So far they've seen four people the two people who are stood either side of the entrance and two more who have just moved back down the steps and inside the temple. "Okay we need to take out those two first and then head inside on our guard we don't know how many more are inside other than the two we've already seen", Ash said.

"Leave that to me", Lana replied pulling two pokeballs from her belt releasing her Gallade and Gardevoir. "I'll teleport over there Gallade and grab them and then we teleport back here where you'll be ready to subdue them quickly and quietly, it's nine on two it can't be that hard", Lana added and Ash nodded at her.

"Go be quick we don't know if anyone else is coming out of the temple soon", Ash replied and Lana nodded.

"Gallade, Gardevoir teleport", Lana cried taking hold of Gardevoir's arm before all three of them vanished.

Misty looked back at the temple entrance watching as they reappeared right in between the two members of Team Infinta. They went to shout to alert their colleagues, but Lana was quicker she told Gallade to grab them and he did before they all teleported back appearing in front of them. Misty watched as Ash was on the job immediately summoning some aura taking both of the guards off their feet watching as their head hit the ground knocking them out cold.

"Tie them up and make it tight so they can't escape and then lets get down there", Ash ordered and Jessie and James nodded pulling out rope from their bags getting to work tying the guards legs together and their arms behind their backs before placing a gag over their mouth so just encase anyone is nearby they won't hear them calling for help once they come round again. Misty had to admire how great a leader Ash was, he's got everything under control and is using everyone's strengths and experiences to help complete this mission. Team Rocket know how to tie someone up they've done it enough time to her and the others while they travelled with Ash around the regions.

"Should we drag them a bit further from the temple?" Jessie asked, but Ash shook his head at her.

"No here will be fine, let's just focus on getting to the final room of this temple as quick as we can. The longer we're here the more that can go wrong", Ash replied and Jessie nodded at him. "Right lets go", Ash added and everyone followed Ash down the dune to the entrance of the temple. "We need to be as quiet as we can, we need to have the upper hand to surprise how ever many people are inside so they don't have time to prepare before we rush them", Ash whispered and everyone including Misty nodded at him. Misty slipped her hand out of Ash's letting him move down the steps first without a sound. Misty followed him keeping her footsteps as soft and quiet as she can with one hand in her pocket curled around one of the pokeballs she's got inside the pocket ready to battle if needs to be. Misty watched as Ash helped Pikachu out of his hoody placing it in his bag as they moved down the stairs.

Everyone made it to the bottom of the stairs without a sound and Misty followed Ash down the first corridor. A few steps from the first room Ash stopped and Misty understood why there was at least six different voices coming from it. "Everyone stay here I'll sneak a look to see how many there are inside", Meowth whispered and they nodded as he moved down the last part of the corridor sneaking a look inside quickly before pulling back stepping slowly backwards the way he came till he reached Ash and Misty spinning around to face them again. "Well there's ten of them in there, six of them are sat in the center wrapped up in blankets talking and the other four are placed around the room"

"Okay that's not to bad, everyone needs to be ready to rush them once I've caused a little distraction", Ash replied.

"How you going to distract them?" Max asked.

"I'm going to walk in there that should do the trick don't you think. While they try to mob me I'm going to be readying a aura shockwave to knock them down and that's where you guys come in, once they're down you've got to help keep them down by tying them up like we did with the other two", Ash replied not waiting for an answer from anyone as he moved down the corridor and into the first room. "Hi could you guys help me please I seem to be lost", Misty heard Ash say and she couldn't help but smile slightly.

Misty heard the sound of Ash smashing his hands together a few seconds later and she watched as a wave of aura passed the doorway. "Guys lets' go", Misty ordered and everyone nodded following her as she rushed down the corridor and into the main room jumping onto one of the members of Team Infinta that was trying to get up again. Some of the members of Team Infinta seemed to be out cold so everyone paired up to tie up the ones that hadn't be knocked out leaving the others where they lay for the moment.

"Ash that one's getting away", Max cried and Misty turned to watch as one of the members they hadn't tied up yet as he was out cold raced out the room and down the corridor towards the stairs leading out of the temple.

"I'll catch him, tie the others up so no one else can escape", Ash answered running out of the room as well.

Misty and the others set to work tying up the last few members of Team Infinta dragging them into one corner of the room all together just finishing as Ash ran back into the room. "Did you catch him?" Max asked.

"No he got away, but lets not worry about him right now. Let's get to the bottom of this temple so I can grab the items from the last room and get out of here just encase he does call for reinforcements", Ash suggested and everyone nodded following Ash over to the other side of the room pulling torches out of their bags turning them on shining their beams in front of them joining together to illuminate the way.

They reached the bottom of the temple is just under ninety minutes, Ash led them at a high pace and no one minded they wanted to get to the bottom and back as quick as they can as well. They're in enemy territory and the only help they've got is a small force stationed somewhere around the region depending on where Steven is at the moment. While Ash moved to the last room Misty asked Brock to join her across the other side of the room from all the others who are all sat down together leaning against the wall waiting for Ash to return. "So Misty what's up?" Brock asked.

"Well I know I'm just being silly, but you're one of my best friends so I know I can talk to you about it and not have you laugh at me. Brock you've got to keep this between just me and you as well", Misty replied she knows Ash said he loves her and she's the only girl for him, but she still worried and Brock is Ash best guy friend so Ash must tell Brock stuff he doesn't tell Misty.

"Sure will do", Brock answered.

"Brock this might sound like a strange question, but what do you think of Anabel?" Misty asked.

"Well she seems okay, the first time we met when Ash was challenging the battle frontier she seemed really nice and a great trainer. Her and Ash really seemed to understand each other and Ash learnt a lot from battling her why?" Brock replied.

"Well she came and spoke to me earlier before we left and well she told me something that's got me slightly worried. Brock she said she has feelings for Ash", Misty answered.

"And you're worried Ash feels the same?", Brock said and Misty nodded which caused Brock to let out a small laugh. "Misty you are just being silly Ash loves you and only you. Misty Ash and Anabel are just good friends and nothing more. Misty he spent the entire time we were talking on the carrier coming here talking about you and only you saying how much he loves you and how he doesn't know what he do without you Misty. Mist just let these worries lie and enjoy spending time with Ash. He loves you and you love him come on Misty lets go join the others again", Brock continued and Misty nodded moving with Brock over to the others.

Misty slid down next to Max giving him a small smile which he returned. "Misty has Ash said anything to you about his visit to Edward today?" Max asked

"Ash visited Edward today?", Misty replied slightly confused about what Max is on about. She can see everyone else is confused except Lana who seems to be more angry than confused about the mention of her ex boyfriend.

"Yeah when we got back from the tournament he was summoned to the communication room straight away. Mostly to tell him about the fact that we needed to send an extraction team to Hoenn, but also that Edward had been asking for him all day. Ash said he needed to see what Edward wanted and then left me to finish the tour of the base with Annabel and Ritchie", Max answered.

"Strange he hasn't mentioned anything to me either. Max leave it with me and I'll find out what happened once we're alone. Once I know I'll tell you and the others don't worry", Misty replied.

"Yeah thanks, I worry that Edward's playing Ash and that soon he'll have Ash where he wants him. Yesterday he said he wasn't going to talk to Ash or anyone else and today he's asking for Ash to visit him something's not right there", Max noted and Misty nodded Max did have a point Edward is up to something.

"I'm sure Ash knows what he's doing. He knows what Edward is capable of, he must be getting something important out of these visits as well. I know whatever Edward thinks he's getting out of these meeting Ash is getting more", Brock added.

"I don't know Brock, Edward's very persuasive he managed to pull the wool over all of our eyes once already I wouldn't put it past him to be able to do it again", Lana countered.

"We're with Brock and Misty, Ash isn't one to forgive anyone easily. Over the years we've done questionable things to him and other, but we've also helped him out many times and even now after helping to get everyone close to him out the Kanto region and helping to fight back against Team Infinta for the last six weeks he still doesn't fully trust us and we know he's right to we've still got a long way to go before we deserve his full trust. Edward tried to stab your dad Lana and he's part of the reason we're at war right now there's no way doesn't matter what Edward says Ash will have forgiven him", James added motioning to Jessie and Meowth when he said we're.

"Lana James is right don't worry I haven't forgiven him. Part of me thinks I'll never forgive him. I'll just leave him to face his punishment once the war is over and not think about him again because there's so many more important things I need to focus on he's made his bed now he must lie in it. I know you're all worried about me, but believe me I'm only visiting Edward to gain Intel that will be helpful to the resistance I'm not being drawn into anything Edward says to me. He told me he knows he's picked the wrong side and wants to help me to regain my trust, but I know once I free him he'll just stab me in the back straight away so I don't believe it for one second. Come on let's get out of here we've got quite a walk to the pick up point", Ash said moving up the stairs and into the room stopping in front of them all sliding the keystone and staff piece into his bag.

Ash extended his hand out to Misty and she took it allowing him to pull her up giving him a smile which he returned, but she could see that something was up with Ash that smile wasn't as warm and loving as his usual smiles, it's like he's worried or guilty about something.

"Ash are you okay?" Misty whispered so no one else could hear.

"Misty I think I've made a mistake", Ash whispered back.

"Why what have you done?" Misty asked keeping her voice to a whisper.

"You'll see once we reach the entrance", Ash replied turning his attention away from Misty and to their friends who are all waiting for them both. Misty slid her hand into Ash's and let him lead her over to the door on the opposite side of the room with their friends following behind them.


	20. Tempest

Ash wasn't sure he done the right thing anymore, before they left the island Alec asked to speak to him and revealed what would happen once Ash and the others reached the temple. Although Alec had never steered him wrong he's worried that about Misty and her part in what's about to happen. Alec told Ash he had to let one of the men escape and allow him to call for reinforcements. Alec said that Ash needs to beat them once again to send a message to them that Ash is back and ready to fight whatever they send against him. Three loses in one day will make them reassess their plans which will give the resistance time to decide on a way to fight back now that everyone is back at the island. Ash would rather of done it stealth like, but he does have to admit if it give the resistance time to create a fight back plan it's worth it.

When the guy bolted from the first room in the temples Ash made out that he chased after him, but he followed him to the exit and then watched as he moved towards the area they had left the first two members of Team Infinta before moving back to the others.

Ash had been sure he was doing the right thing right up to the moment he stepped into the final room and Lucida spoke to him and he told her what about to happen and she said she's not sure that the events are going to go down like that and that it's more likely to end with the death of Misty if not Ash as well. The only part Lucida thought was good was that Ash is at least going to listen to the advice she gave him about having more allies than just people in the resistance. She trust Ash knows what he's doing so she's alright with him going ahead with his plan.

"They've gone", Misty cried as they reached the room where they left the tied up members of Team Infinta. Misty looked at Ash, but he turned away letting a small smile enter his face quickly before getting rid of it as the rest of their group looked at him. Events are progressing as they should, Alec's vision is coming true they are going to escape the region okay.

"Misty don't worry everything is going to be okay, right when we get to the top of the steps all hell is going to break loose. The guy that got away freed all his comrades once we moved further into the temple and then called for reinforcements which includes one of the Immortals Tempest", Ash interrupted.

"How do you know that?", Misty asked.

"Alec told me that he's seen what's about to happen. After we got back to the island and was given a room he had a quick nap and he had a sort of dream of our visit to the temple. Everyone everything goes fine, Brock you lead everyone expect Misty and me away from the temple. Me and Misty will stay together and give you time to get away by battling Tempest and the members of Team Infinta", Ash answered.

"Ash are you sure?", Brock asked.

"Yeah Alec's never steered me wrong, he told me where to find Misty's cure and helped me to get everyone away from the tournament without any problems don't worry everything will be okay. Let me and Misty head out first and then once we've got their attention move as fast as you can head for the pick up point and we'll catch up I promise", Ash answered and Brock nodded.

"Ash be careful", Brock said and Ash nodded.

"You to Brock, right Misty are you ready?" Ash replied and both Brock and Misty nodded at him. Ash moved out the room with Misty hand in hand with him. They moved up the stairs slowly their free hands moving towards their pokeballs ready to release their pokemon when needed.

Misty and Ash reached the top of the steps and found themselves facing thirty members of Team Infinta and hovering above them is Tempest looking exactly like Alan described him. Ash can see the control band positioned round Tempest's neck from where he is standing in the entrance to the temple. "Did you really think it would be easy to come here collect the items from the last room and then head off again", a man wearing a headset just like Bellatrix wore to command Lucida. This guy must be the guy in charge if he's got the headset that controls Tempest.

"Well yeah actually I do, you see I know what's going to happen and here's a little spoiler for you I win today", Ash replied summoning a large ball of aura throwing it half way towards the members of Team Infinta. The ball exploded causing a large amount of sand to fly up blocking the entrance of the temple from view. "Brock up you come", Ash shouted down into the temple and a few seconds later Brock and the others burst out.

"Ash good luck", Brock cried as he ran past Ash and Ash nodded turning back to the members of Team Infinta just as the sand cleared.

"You lot get after them, capture them and bring them back here they've got bounties on each of their heads the boss will reward us greatly", the guy in charge shouted and ten of the members of Team Infinta nodded running off towards where Brock and the others were making their escape.

"Ash are you sure they'll be okay?" Misty asked and Ash nodded at her.

"Yeah don't worry their escape is easily than ours. Alright everyone out you come", Ash replied sliding his free had over his belt pressing each pokeball with one finger till all of his pokemon were in front of him. Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder landing with the other pokemon.

"Oh I don't think, there's still twenty of us and only two of you and even better on our side we have an Immortal you think you can beat him?" the man who Ash believes the leader.

"Can I just ask you name a moment? I need to know who's butt I'm about to whip" Ash asked.

"Um sure, I guess it'll be nice for you to know the name of the man who beats you. I'm Vadia."

"Wait I know that name, you were one of the men that tried to stop Gary and the others back in Kanto, but they beat you and got away", Misty replied and Ash could see the mention of that failure annoyed Vadia.

"They got lucky, but you won't get so lucky this time I've got an Immortal on my side", Vadia replied.

"And that will just make this failure sting even more later", Ash replied.

"Well see Tempest show them your power", Vadia shouted into his headset and Tempest started to form an attack.

"Everyone except Squirtle scatter, Squirtle get below him and use rapid spin", Ash ordered and Squirtle nodded pulling all his body parts into his shell before hitting the ground spinning. The rest of Ash pokemon jumped in different directions as Tempest fired off his attack. Ash pulled Misty back slightly forming a shield of aura as well to block the shockwave from the attack. The shield held as the shockwave from the hit continued. Ash let the shield fall as soon as the attack finished ready to fight back with some offensive aura manipulations.

A large sandstorm started to form around Squirtle and Ash pulled Misty back another few step as it started to grow bigger and bigger forcing a few of the members of Team Infinta to step back as well. The sandstorm continued to expend till it reached Tempest pulling him in, "Alright everyone Squirtle needs some assistance, Charizard use Flamethrower on the sandstorm", Ash shouted and Charizard nodded at his firing off his attack. Ash watched as Charizard's flamethrower mixed with the sandstorm hardening a group of sand particles which crashed into Tempest which caused him to let out a small roar of pain and annoyance. "Pidgeot use whirlwind to add some more sand and power to the sandstorm", Ash added and Pidgeot nodded flapping his wings as hard as he can sending more sand and wind into the pull of Squirtle's attack and Ash has to admit it does seem to be strengthen it. Ash knows it isn't enough to hold Tempest for to long Alan explained the power of the Immortals to everyone at the meeting before the Immortal were awoken, but Alec said it holds him for long enough if Ash continues to fire different attacks and balls of aura into it.

"You really think that's enough to defeat Tempest some silly tricks using the desert around us he's an Immortal he can't be beaten by weaklings like your pokemon. There's two of you and twenty of us and we've all got pokemon ready to fight", Vadia shouted from his position on the other side of the sandstorm. Ash could see Vadia was holding one of his hands in front of his eyes to block the stray sand coming off Squirtle's attack. Ash smiled the googles him and Misty are wearing right now are giving them a small advantage.

Vadia and the members of Team Infinta called out their pokemon from their pokeballs forming a ring around them blocking out most of the sand being thrown from Squirtles sandstorm. "Ash shall I call out everyone I've got as well?" Misty asked and Ash nodded at her. Misty's Starmie and Staryu appeared in front of her along with Ash's Buizel, Corphish and Krookodile.

"Well let's get down to business then, you may have more pokemon than we do, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeves as well let me show you. Pidgeot stop using whirlwind", Ash shouted back and Pidgeot nodded landing back on the ground again as Ash summoned small orbs of aura firing them into the Squirtle's sandstorm just above Squirtle's position one after the other till he sent in over twenty watching as they twirled round the sandstorm till they reached the top crashing into Tempest one after the other causing more cries of pain and annoyance.

"That was pretty good, but how long can your Squirtle keep up the rapid spin that is creating the sandstorm?, it must be getting tired by now", Vadia admitted.

"He's one of my best pokemon and he'll keep it up as long as I need him to.." Ash started as he continued to fire more balls of aura into the sandstorm to keep Tempest from fighting back against them until Ash is ready to face him properly.

"And he's going to be doing it on his own, Starmie and Staryu get as close as you can to Squirtles sandstorm and then use rapid spin as well, form your own sandstorms help to keep Tempest occupied", Misty interrupted and her two pokemon moved towards Squirtle hitting the floor once they couldn't get any closer spinning their own sandstorms. Ash watched as they grew bigger and bigger till they were as big as Squirtles, both of their sandstorms started to bend as Squirtle's sandstorm started to pull them into it's spin. Their tops merged into the middle of Squirtles and Ash smiled as he realised the power of all three we now crashing into Tempest at one point keeping him from moving or using any of his attacks.

"Well it seems we've got Tempest subdued for now, let's focus on all these pokemon you believe will beat us and allow you to capture us. Lucario you're up first use Aura Arrows to thin the group", Ash said letting out a small laugh as he fired another set of balls of aura into the sandstorm helping to keep Tempest contained.

"Ash once Lucario's thinned the group I'll use the three pokemon you've lent me to knock out the rest while you focus on keeping Tempest subdued", Misty suggested and Ash nodded, Alec had said that this is how things are supposed to go so who's Ash to argue if it means everyone gets away safely and they get to annoy Team Infinta by beating them once again. Lucario fired off his attack and the ball of aura flew into the sky stopping above all of Team Infinta's pokemon exploding causing arrows of aura to rain down upon all of them. Some of the pokemon managed to dive under ground to avoid them and some teleported out of the range of them, but most of them were hit continuously till they dropped to the ground out cold.

"Well that has made it slightly fairer, right Misty you finish off the rest of them and I'll focus on taking Tempest down with my pokemon, ask your Starmie and Staryu to end their rapid spins the sandstorm trick has run it's course, now it's time to get down to business", Ash said and Misty nodded.

"Staryu, Starmie end your rapid spins", Misty called and both her pokemon obeyed as Ash watched the sandstorm weaken and both pokemon appear from within their sandstorms moving over to Misty.

"Squirtle you too buddy you did great", Ash called and the final sandstorm subsided and very tired Squirtle appeared. Ash could see his pokemon was fighting for breath and his body was shaking with fatigue Squirtle was hunched over his hands nearly touching the ground by his feet.. "Squirtle are you okay to continue? or do you want to return to your pokeball?" Ash asked his pokemon who gave him a nod for the Ash's first question and a shake of the head for the second questions. Ash watched as Squirtle took a deep breath before standing up tall letting out a large battle cry before he started to glow and his form was enveloped in light. Just as Alec said he would Squirtle is evolving. The glow continued for another few seconds before it dimmed and Wartortle appeared where his prior form once stood.

"So he's evolved big deal he's still not strong enough to beat Tempest", Vadia shouted letting out a large laugh and Ash turned to look at him letting out a small laugh of his own.

"Well see never get to confident the higher you are the further you have to fall", Ash replied turning his attention to his newly evolved Wartortle. "You've evolved into Wartortle that's great lets show them some of your new power in a minute", Ash added and Wartortle nodded.

"Oh it's easy to say that, lets see if you can back up those words with action, Tempest hit them with hyper beam", Vadia replied speaking the last part into his headset.

"Everyone get close", Ash called and Misty and all their pokemon moved over to Ash. Ash grabbed hold of Lucario's paw sending a message to him. "Lucario I'm going to need your help to block this attack." Lucario nodded and Ash felt some of Lucario's power flow into him and Ash summoned a dome shield around them just before the attack hit. The shield started to crack, but Ash and Lucario sent a bit more power into it filling in the area of the cracks repairing it till it was whole again stronger than before.

"Ash you're aura is getting stronger, the last time I saw you fight an Immortal it was one sided", Misty whispered and Ash nodded looking up at Tempest continuing to fire his hyper beam at the shield, Ash could Vadia and the other members of Team Infinta were smiling believing they have the upper hand. If Alec is right they aren't winning, Brock and the others should have knocked out all the members that were sent after them and should now be continuing their way to the meeting point.

"Misty, me and Lucario have been working hard so it won't be one sided anymore. Misty once the attack ends I'll get Vadia and Tempest to follow me away from here while you take out the rest of the pokemon belonging to the members of Team Infinta. Misty once you've taken them all out go and meet up with the others I'll catch up I promise. Misty don't stick around I don't want you to be in anymore danger than you have to be", Ash replied keeping his voice down so Vadia can't hear what he's saying.

"Ash I don't want to leave you alone, but I know you've get everything covered so I will go", Misty replied and Ash smiled leaning forward kissing Misty on the lips while keeping the shield up as Tempest's attacked ended. "Love you Ash", Misty whispered back.

"Love you to Misty", Ash countered and Misty gave Ash a small smile. "Everyone I'm going to drop the shield, Buizel, Corphish and Krookodile look after Misty", Ash continued and his three pokemon nodded at him. Ash turned his six pokemon, "Okay we need to lure Tempest and Vadia away from here so I'm going to call everyone except Pikachu and Charizard back for now once we're far enough away we'll land and start our fight back", Ash explained keeping his voice as quiet as he can.

They all nodded at him as he released the shield calling them back to their pokeballs. Ash jumped onto Charizard's back and Pikachu jumped onto as Charizard took to the sky. "Vadia come and get me if you think you're strong enough, Pikachu hit Tempest with Thunderbolt", Ash shouted and Pikachu fired off a powerful thunderbolt not damaging Tempest very much, but annoying him greatly. "Charizard go he looks angry", Ash shouted and Charizard started to move off at top speed.

Ash turned round watching as Tempest landed allowing Vadia to climb onto his back before taking to the sky coming after Ash.

Tempest's speed meant that within a minute he had caught up with Ash and Charizard, but Ash was sure he put enough distance between them and Misty so it didn't really matter. "Charizard lets land we've gone far enough", Ash shouted to his pokemon who nodded diving out of the sky narrowly avoiding an attack Tempest had fired. Charizard landed to the ground with a crash and Ash jumped off calling out all his pokemon.

"Wartortle use Hydro Pump, Sceptile and Charizard you help out by using Bullet Seed and flamethrower. Pikachu jump onto Pidgeot's back and then Pidgeot take to the sky", Ash said to all his pokemon who nodded doing as he asked taking to the sky and firing off attacks from their positions on the ground into the sky towards Tempest.

"Pidgeot fly as close as you can to Tempest so Pikachu can fire off thunderbolts, show him your power buddy", Ash added and Pidgeot soared past and Pikachu fired off an attack which Tempest rolled to avoid and Ash could see Vadia was fighting to stay on Tempest's back. "Lucario we're up, lets show him what our lessons have been all about", Ash added taking Lucario's paw into his summoning his aura sending it up into the air closing his fist as it circled Vadia lifting him off Tempest. Ash and Lucario pulled him down away from Tempest and towards the ground releasing him a metre above the ground letting him crash down.

Ash heard one of Vadia's legs break on impact and he did feel bad about doing it, but it needs to be done it's the only way no one will be sent after Ash and the others. There's just one more thing that needs to be done if Ash and the others are going to have a easy escape, Ash must break the connection between Vadia and Tempest.

"We really underestimated you it seems, you've broken my leg we never thought you had it in you to harm anyone. I thought we were different, but maybe we're not", Vadia shouted clutching his leg while also trying to drag himself away from Ash.

"I never wanted this to happen I never wanted to hurt anyone, you guys started this war and you forced me to hurt you just now. Vadia whatever happens now is on the shoulders of you and everyone else that belongs to Team Infinta", Ash replied summoning a ball in both hands flinging them up into the air both narrowly missing Tempest.

"Mr Ketchum we are only trying to show everyone a better world, join us and you'll see that for yourself", Vadia countered as he continued to drag himself away from Ash.

"You know Edward tried the same tactics with me, but like with him I'm not interested. Team Infinta is evil and I'll never join them, my destiny is to wake Lucida and end this war and that's what I'll do", Ash replied.

"Well don't say I didn't give you a chance to join us, the end has come Tempest take them all out use Wind Shears", Vadia shouted continuing to drag himself away from Ash a bit more.

Tempest's wings started to glow and blasts of wind exploded out from him. Pidgeot and Charizard rolled to avoid the ones aimed at them, but Pikachu wasn't ready he fell away from Pidgeot crashing to the ground seriously injured. Sceptile and Wartortle were both knocked out cold by Tempests attack and thrown off their feet flying thirty metres backwards landing either side of Pikachu. Lucario fired off aura spheres to intercept the blasts of wind heading towards him while making his way to Pikachu's location. Ash rushed over to his pokemon taking Lucario's paw in his hand sending a powerful blast of aura into the air crashing into Tempest stopping his attack and knocking him a few metres to the left.

"We can beat him today Ash, there's only me, you, Charizard and Pidgeot left we've got to retreat", Lucario's voice boomed inside Ash's head.

"Lucario not yet, I know we can't beat him with them knocked out, but they might not be knocked out for long and we can still win today trust me help is coming...", Ash stopped looking to the distance letting a large smile enter his face "Look here it comes", Ash finished pointing to the distance as three pokemon zoomed towards them.

The help Ash called from inside the temple has arrived and Ash recognises all three of them two from experience Latios and Latias though he's not sure if they're the same ones as he met in the past and one from a picture he was shown on one of his travels around the regions Rayquaza. All three of them fired off attacks at Tempest and they all hit knocking him a few metres closer to the ground. "Charizard and Pidgeot come down here", Ash called and both of his pokemon glided down to him landing either side of him.

Rayquaza continued to fire off attacks from long range as Latios and Latias dived towards Ash stopping above him and his pokemon. Both eon pokemon started to emit a energy pulse from their body which surrounded Ash and his pokemon healing all of their injuries and reviving both Sceptile and Wartortle. Both Eon pokemon let out happy cries before starting to chat away to Ash, but he couldn't understand what they were trying to say.

Ash could see Lucario was smiling at whatever they were saying so it must be good. "Lucario what are they saying?" Ash asked.

"Ash they say that they heard you call and came straight away, Ash they know of you and how you are a champion of the pokemon. Ash they want you to know that they're here for you to command as is Rayquaza your enemy is their enemy", Lucario answered.

"That's great lets get down to business, everyone throw everything you've got at Tempest. While you're doing that I've got to get that headset from Vadia", Ash said and everyone nodded. Charizard and Pidgeot took to the sky gliding off with the eon twins into the sky while Lucario, Pikachu, Sceptile and Wartortle fired attacks from the floor at Tempest. Rayquaza's attacks were keeping Tempest's attention completely so he didn't have time to dodge all the attacks the eon twins and Ash pokemon fired at it.

Ash smiled rushing off towards the area where he last seen Vadia following the trail of blood till he found him.

"I see you've managed to call on some help from the legendary pokemon, it still isn't enough though Tempest can't be beaten by you",

"Vadia you've got something I want and I think I'm just going to take it now no more back and forth banter. You can't beat me, but if I control Tempest I can beat you though", Ash explained leaning down grabbing the headset of Vadia's head placing it on his instead. "Tempest come to me", Ash said into the headset turning back towards the way in had come watching as Tempest appeared closely followed by all of Ash's pokemon and the three legendary pokemon. "Tempest land", Ash continued and Tempest landed to the left of Vadia.

"The boy's taken the headset you must take control from your location, destroy the headset and bring us back to the Grandis region this battle will have to continue another day tell our forces to retreat to the home base back in Mauville City", Vadia said from behind Ash and Ash spun round just as Vadia ended the call. Ash felt the headset buzz and he ripped it off chucking it to the floor just as it exploded. Tempest grabbed hold of Vadia in his talons taking to the sky taking off at high speed not bothering to look back while Vadia screamed in agony in his claws.

Everything went as Alec said they would, Ash got the stone and staff pieces from the temple and he managed to get Vadia to retreat back to the Grandis region. Now as long as things went like they should of done with the others Ash should find everyone waiting for him at the meeting point.

"Ash Rayquaza is asking are we going after them?" Lucario's asked inside Ash's head.

Ash turned to look at the three legendary pokemon hovering above him, "No we're not going after them. Latios, Latias and Rayquaza thank you for coming to my aid even if the battle was short, but it was worth it. You kept Tempest occupied long enough for me to be able to get the headset without Vadia having the chance to call for help from Tempest, I needed them to head back to the Grandis region by the time they send someone new here me and my friends will be long gone that was all this was about", Ash explained.

All three legendary pokemon said something one after the other and Lucario nodded at each of them, "Ash they said that today's battle might of been short, but they agree it was worth it. Ash they also want you to know they'll come to your aid again when ever you need them to. Latios and Latias also want to know if you need a lift back to the others?" Lucario explained.

"Thank you all three of you I'll keep that in mind. Latios, Latias you've done enough, but thank you for the offer I'll ride Charizard back to my friends. Right I better get back to my friends they'll start to worry soon off you go see you again in the future", Ash replied and all three legendary pokemon turned heading off together into the horizon.

Ash turned to his pokemon giving them all big smiles, "You all did a great job time to return to your pokeballs, once we get back to the island I'll get Professor Oak to give you something special as a treat for all your hard work today both here and at the tournament." All of his pokemon nodded at him and he pressed all his pokeballs watching as everyone except Pikachu and Charizard were sucked into their pokeballs. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder before Ash climbed onto Charizard's neck clinging on tightly as he took off from the ground gliding off back towards the temple entrance ready to find Misty and join up with the others.


	21. Different Approaches

**I'm sorry about the length of time since me last chapter, due to personal reasons I've not had the time or mind set to write this chapter until recently I hope you enjoy it and the next chapter should be up as well in five to seven days.**

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Ash looked around the table at everyone esle sat in the conference room. As soon as Ash's party had landed on the island after getting back from Hoenn they were directed straight inside by Cynthia who said that they needed to discuss their next steps. This meeting is a lot smaller than the last one Ash had with Cynthia before Team Infinta took control of the regions. This time there's only Ash's party that went to Hoenn with him, Cynthia, Diantha, Alder, May, Dawn, Davis and the masters from aura guardian temples.

Ash is shattered and would rather head back to his room with Misty and go to bed. Ash didn't get any sleep last night while they were in Hoenn he tossed and turned for hours in the end giving up trying to sleep and heading into bridge to spend the night keeping the pilot company. Ash is facing a battle to keep his eyes open they keep closing and he has to fight to get them to open again he really can't fall asleep now this is an important meeting.

"Okay I can see some of you are slightly tired so we'll keep this quick", Cynthia started looking at Ash who gave her a weak smile to say sorry. "So your visit to Hoenn was successful and we managed to extract a large group of people to safety and collect the items from the temple as well so well done to all of you. Ash in your message that you sent to the island once you got back to the carrier you said that Team Infinta showed up, would you mind giving us a run through of what happened for the people who didn't go on the mission with you", Cynthia added and Ash nodded.

"Of course", Ash replied taking a deep breath before slapping himself softly on the face to shake away some of the sleep and fatigue from his face. "So we got to the temple and took out all but one of the members of Team Infinta who got away to raise the alarm and call for reinforcements", Ash explained deciding it would be best to leave out the fact that he let the members of Team Infinta get away so that what Alec told him happens comes true. "So I did go after the one that got away, but I lost sight of him in the sand blowing around the desert so I decided to just head back inside the temple and get to the bottom and grab the items in the final room before heading back to the top as quick as I could. Once we arrived back in the first room they were gone, but I had expected that so everything was still under control", Ash added.

"You expected them to be gone Ash", Cynthia repeated and Ash nodded "Why?" Cynthia asked.

"Well before we left the island Alec a trainer I faced in the final of the Kalos pokemon league told me that he had seen the events that unfolded in Hoenn", Ash answered.

"And you trusted his apparent visions?" Alder asked.

"Alec has helped me out on two other occasions with his ability to see the future, after I beat him in the league when we were shaking hands he told me that I would find what I was looking for in Miracle Islands range which he was right that's where I found the items to save Misty. The other occasion was back at the tournament when I was trying to save everything that had walked into Team Infinta's trap he gave me a nudge in the right direction in the best way to cause a scene to allow Max and the others to get everyone back to carrier without having to much trouble so yes I trusted his visions. Alec is going to be a useful ally in the battle against Team Infinta we'll know what's coming before it arrives and learn to combat or change if needs be before it happens", Ash answered.

"Okay if you trust him that's enough for us, so what happened next?" Diantha asked.

Ash continued to explain everything that went on in Hoenn starting with Misty and him distracting the members of Team Infinta so Brock and the others could escape. Continuing to explain how it mostly worked and only a small force which was easily defeated was sent after Brock and the others and explained that while Brock and the others were heading to the meeting point him and Misty took out the rest of the members of Team Infinta. Ash spent a lot longer explaining the events that occurred once he got Tempest and Vadia to follow him away from the temple and the battle that followed and how he ended it by taking control of the headset that Vadia was using to command Tempest.

"So there's a secondary command headset then which can override the first one if the need arises interesting", Cynthia noted.

"Yeah it is, but it also gives us a slight advantage knowing that now. If we manage to get control of the headset then Team Infinta will have to override it and take control with the second one. I believe that it must be in their main headquarters which is probably in the Grandis Region and that due to the distance between them and Tempest the only command that it could give was to return to them I'll see if I can find out if my assumption is correct and get back to you. If it is that gives us a day at least without that Immortal getting in the way in that region that could be the difference between winning and losing", Ash added and everyone nodded at him.

"Yes you're right Ash, so that's given us something new to think about. Now that we're all up to date with the latest mission now it's time to think about our next move. Everyone here in this room and on this island has proven themselves since the Immortals rose and I think it is only right that you all get a say in what happens. This meeting now is to just go over a few ideas before we call everyone on the island to a meeting to discuss our final decision on the way forward", Cynthia continued taking control of the direction of conversation. "So we know Ash has got to continue collecting the stones and staff pieces, but what we've got to decide is what we can do to help you Ash..." Cynthia continued stopping as the door to the room flew open and a frantic computer technician barged in a look of worry etched over his face as the door crashed against the wall sending a large echo of a bang all around the room and back to it's origin.

"What is it?" Ash asked all his earlier exhaustion pushed to one side, he's ready and able to do whatever needs to be done who needs sleep.

"Trouble, give me a minute to transfer it to the screen so you'll be able to see it for yourself when it starts. It started to broadcast about ten minutes ago and is on a continuous loop informing us that an important broadcast is about to show. It should begin anytime soon", the technician answered rushing over to the computer connected to the main screen typing away on it.

A few seconds later a voice started to come out of the speakers around the room, "Important announcement from Team Infinta, due to start soon", the screen flashed to life and a count down appeared on the screen with a black background signalling the start of the broadcast.

"This can't be anything good, can it?" Ash commented and everyone shook their heads at him.

"No it can't the last time they broadcast something this suddenly it was to announce that they were placing bounties on all of our heads. Lets see what they're about to announce this time?" Steven replied.

The countdown reached zero and the screen flashed to life a man stepped into frame starting to talk, "Hello everyone for those who don't know me my name is Iro and I am one of the lieutenants of Team Infinta. Although this message is being broadcast to nearly every television in the world most of this message is just for the resistance, well one member of the resistance the very clever and resourceful Mr Ketchum or as he's known to his friends Ash. Although this message isn't for the rest of you please keep on watching we want you all to see the truth about Mr Ketchum and his so called band of freedom fighters the resistance."

"What truth?", May asked and Ash shrugged his shoulders.

"My organisation Team Infinta only wanted the best for the world and we believe that only with our leadership can that happen. We've tried to explain this to Ash and the resistance and have asked them for their assistance with building a better world for everyone many times. But they refused and attacked my fellow members hurting loads of them and killing quite a few as well. They make us out to be the monsters, but in fact they are the monsters. We've never done anything to hurt you innocent people since the day we took control of the world, yes we've made new rules, but that's just to keep you all safe. Although it seems you've not seen it that way as no one seems to want to help us capture these terrorist. We've had a line open for people to call with information about Ash and the members of resistance but we've yet to have one helpful call in the last six weeks so it seems you've made your loyalties clear." The guy turned his back to the camera angling his head downwards looking down at something, "This place is sort of beautiful it must of been a lovely place to grow up, Bart come and show everyone how beautiful this place is", Iro continued and the camera got closer to him till whoever was holding it was next to him and he disappeared out of view and everyone got to look down at the town below instead.

Ash let out a string of swear words and he watched as everyone turned to look at him, "That's Pallet Town isn't it?", Max said and Ash nodded at him.

"Yes it is, now what I really want to know is what's he doing there?" Ash replied.

"So back to the reason I'm here. During the night me and my fellow members of Team Infinta that were placed nearby in Viridian City came here and along the way placed communications blockers to add the ones we had already placed in Viridian on the routes to Pallet Town. This morning when we arrived we moved around the town placing more commination blockers so that they can't see this broadcast and can't be warned by anyone else in the rest of the world. I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with anything well soon you'll understand this is a message for everyone this is what happens when you betray us. Ash we've given you the chance to join us many times and given you many incentives, but you've turned them all down."

"Incentive packages, is that what they call threatening to kill me and the others?" Misty shouted.

"Yeah, but they can't say that they're trying to make out we're the monsters in this battle and that we've forced them to become what the world is about to see, I have a feeling what they've done so far will be nothing compared to this", Ash replied.

"You all seem to think my organisation are monsters so maybe it's time we became the monsters you make us out to be, maybe then you'll think twice about disobeying us again. Now before we begin I just want to say a quick word to Ash Ketchum if you're watching this then good because this is what happens when you disobey us. Bart show him who we brought with us", Iro continued. The camera turned away from Iro and up into the sky till it stopped showing Umbra hovering above looking down upon Pallet Town.

"No, please god no don't do what I think you're about to do they're all innocent", Ash shouted at the screen tears starting to slide down his face as he started to get an idea of what is about to come, Ash can see by the looks on everyone else is the rooms faces they do too.

"So Ash I'm sure you remember how powerful he is don't you?, well everyone in this town will feel his power today and it'll stay in everyone else's memories for the rest of time a constant reminder what happens if someone stands against us, if we can't hurt you we'll hurt those closest to you. Bart set the camera on the stand we need to get out of here before it all begins don't want to get hit by any debris", Iro said and the camera started to shake slightly as the camera man took it off his shoulder and placed it on the stand.

Ash looked around the room at all his friends faces and they were mirroring his complete shock and a overwhelming sense of hopelessness there's nothing they can do all the way from the island, Pallet Town is doomed.

"This is being broadcast to the whole world isn't it?" Ash asked turning to the technician who nodded at him.

"Umbra destroy everyone and everything in that town, leave no survivors show everyone what happens when someone crosses us", Iro voice echoed through the broadcast. Ash looked back at the screen as Umbra's first blast blasted down into the town blowing two houses apart. Ash was sure he heard a scream and a cry coming from the craters of what used to be the houses.

"Oh my god this is horrible, those people are innocent. They won't even know why they're being fired upon as they die", May cried.

"We've got to stop this broadcast now, those people were innocent I won't have their deaths screened across the world for the sick satisfaction of Team Infinta", Ash screamed his crying get stronger and stronger.

"I'll get right on it Mr Ketchum with the rest of my team, it might take a little while" the technician replied and Ash nodded watching as he rushed out the room.

Ash turned back to the screen just in time to see Umbra's latest attack hit what used to be his house blowing it to pieces. Ash co "I'm going to make them pay for this, all of them no matter how big a part they are of the organisation no one is going to get away with this", Ash shouted jumping out of his chair jumping across the room turning off the broadcast wiping away any loose tears taking a deep breath before moving over to the door.

"Ash where are you going?" Cynthia asked.

"To get answers, I need to know if I could of stopped this from happening", Ash answered.

"Ash no I can't allow you to see him now, you're angry and you're looking for someone to take your anger out on, Edward is our prisoner and no matter what he's done or who he is I can't allow any harm to come to him", Steven said getting up from his chair.

"It's my right to see him, I'm a champion just like you. I'm the only one who can stop the Immortals so you have no right to tell me what I can and can't do so sit back down Steven because you're right I am angry and maybe I do need to let my anger out. Tell me do you want to be the one I let it out on because you're annoying me right now", Ash barked and Steven hesitated.

"Ash please this isn't you", Misty cried from her seat.

"I'm sorry", Ash replied not looking back at his friends stepping out the room running down the corridor.

Ash skidded to a stop outside Edward's cell, but he could see something was different to all of his other visits the guards weren't welcoming. One of them seemed to be holding some sort of communication device in his hand and Ash understood straight away. Steven had called ahead and told them to refuse Ash entry. "Ash keep going, please don't make this any harder than it has to be. We respect you and all you've done for the resistance, but we can't let you pass", the guard with the communicator said stepping towards Ash.

"I need to see him, please", Ash replied, but the guard shook his head at Ash.

"Ash we can't I'm sorry, but Steven wants us to send you back to him so you can talk this out properly. Ash I'm sorry about your hometown, but hurting Edward won't make you feel better", the second guard said joining the conversation stepping forward as well.

"I'm not here to hurt him just answers", Ash said, but both guards shook their heads.

"Ash I know the look someone has when they need revenge and that's just what you have right now. Ash step off we don't want to have to hurt you", the first guard answered.

"I'm sorry for this, but I need to see him. If you let me pass I wouldn't have to need to resort to this", Ash whispered summoning aura to both hands forming massive fist of aura smashing them into the two guards knocking them off their feet. Their heads hit the floor and Ash knew they be out for a while long enough to give him time to speak to Edward.

Ash pulled the key from one of the guards sliding it into the door unlocking it stepping closing the door behind him leaving it only open a little bit so he could exit again. Edward looked up from his usual position, but his reaction was different this time. There was true fear in his eyes and Ash realised he must have a crazed look on his face right now. Ash summoned more aura to his hands sending them out to Edward lifting him up in a tight grip. Ash wants to show Edward how strong he is, so Edward will be afraid enough not to lie to Ash "Edward did you know?"

"Did I know what Ash?" Edward answered a clear tremor in his voice.

"Did you know Team Infinta would attack Pallet Town to send me a message", Ash answered keeping his grip on Edward with his aura.

"What they attacked Pallet, when? how?" Edward asked a look of surprise and confusion on his face, but Ash could see something else only a small flicker on something, but definitely there.

"Yes and they aired it live for the whole world to see, so they could witness what happens if someone stands against them innocent people get hurt. No one in that town had done anything to oppose Team Infinta so why did they need to die, their problem is with me", Ash answered.

"Ash I'm sorry I really am. Ash if only I had known I could of warned you and saved all those people. Ash they need to pay and I'll help in anyway I can. Ash I see now I chose the wrong side. Ash I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did they attack Pallet?"

"They sent Umbra to blow the place to smithereens. I watched as the town I grew up in, the people I called my friends, no my extended family die at the hands of a monsters. They had no warning whats so ever", Ash answered turning away from Edward rubbing his face against his jacket to get rid of the tears that were starting to slide down his face. He can't allow Edward see him cry he needs to remain in control of this situation.

"I'm so sorry Ash, there's no chance anyone survived, but I can see you already know that. Ash let me go and we can start to figure a way to end this before anymore have to die. Ash I'm firmly on the side of the resistance now. Lets head to meet up with the others and get the fight back underway", Edward suggested, but Ash shook his head at Edward. So many things started to slip into the place for Ash. Edward's resistance to talk to Ash to begin with compared to his actions today and even the last time he visited. Ash thought he was in control ,but it seems Edward has been playing him every time he visited. Lana and the others were right Edward can't be trusted and Ash was a fool to think he could be. Why didn't he see it before, someone whose job it is to blend in with the enemy must be a great liar and be able to hide all emotion from their face and their body else risk the chance of being found out. That hint of emotion Ash saw earlier was Edward's true feelings about the news of Pallet's attack and that is glee he's happy that Umbra attacked.

"Edward I don't trust you and that will never chance no matter how much you help me. I've seen what your organisation is capable of and I can't work with anyone who ever thought they were the good side. You may not of known what they had planned, but your still a member of Team Infinta and you'll pay for that crime. Edward this is the last time we'll ever see each other, so I guess this is goodbye", Ash replied letting go of Edward turning away moving to the door placing his hand on it to push it open.

Edward started to laugh behind Ash, but Ash didn't turn he continued to push the door open, "Ash I lied to you. Now that there's no point keeping up this lets be friends crap there's no point lying anymore. Ash of course I know about the plan to attack Pallet, but more than that I was the one that suggested it. The day I met you I got an instant read of you, your friends mean everything to you and so if we were to ever beat you we needed to hurt them, but that seemed a bit small to Team Infinta. Even if we hurt your friends or killed them there was still a chance you could keep fighting us so we needed something bigger and then that's when it came to me, we should attack something that is precious to everyone, their families. And my read of you told me you cared deeply about the people who lived in your town so if the need arose to destroy your fight then Pallet had to be destroyed and it seems I was right look at you. Your broken and only rage is keeping you going, a hero is supposed to be just and fair, but look at you all you want to do is get revenge my work is complete", Edward explained his laughter getting louder and stronger.

"Well then there's no need for you anymore is there then", Ash screamed spinning around sending a explosion of aura out of his body stronger and more destructive than anything he had ever used before. Edward was thrown off his feet and into the wall, Ash was sure he heard something or somethings inside Edward crack and splinter. The floor started to crack slightly and the bed was ripped the floor and spun over it was upside down with it's legs in the air. Ash heard the door fly off it's hinges behind him and then everything went dark and the floor rushed up to meet him.

"Ash can you hear me", Misty asked and Ash slowly opened his eyes taking in his surroundings he lying on his bed back in his quarters with Misty sat beside the bed the same as she was the day he woke up from his coma only a short time ago.

"Misty what happened?, how did I get here?"

"Ash you were so angry I witnessed the recording from the room before you destroyed the camera. Ash your aura exploded out of you, you destroyed that room and you nearly killed Edward, there's a chance you might of. They're battling to save him in the infirmary and they're bringing in specialists who are loyal to the resistance from around the world to try and save him. Ash it was scary, you weren't the guy I fell in love with in that room. Ash I'm sorry, but you were a monster", Misty answered and Ash could see something in Misty's eyes he never seen before fear, she's afraid of him.

"Misty I'm sorry I really am, I just lost control he told me it was his idea to attack Pallet. Misty I could of saved them", Ash whispered.

"Ash I know, you have the right to be angry about that, but your actions are inexcusable. I've got to go and tell Steven and the others you're awake. Stay here and think about what you're going to say Steven wants a word, I' shouldn't be to long", Misty answered and Ash nodded.

"Is he pissed with me?" Ash asked.

"Pissed doesn't describe it Ash. You injured the guards who were trying to stop you from doing anything stupid, well they failed but that isn't their fault it's yours. Edward's room is in no shape to be used anymore and your actions could of given away our location the blast shook the whole base Ash. You need to rain in your temper before you do some real damage Ash. I thought I know you, but maybe I was wrong", Misty replied getting up from her chair moving out the room. The last bit of Misty's last answer really stung Ash ,but he couldn't complain she's right who has he become in the short time since Umbra destroyed Pallet. Yes he told Edward he wasn't the same Ash he met on the plane in one of their earlier conversations, but has he really left behind everything that made him who he used to be. He's no hero anymore, he's a monster who needs to be put down before he does anymore damage.

Ash heard the door go and he took a deep breath getting ready for the lecture he's about to receive from Steven, but it wasn't Steven who stepped into the bedroom it wasn't even one of the other champions it was Master Atticus. "Ash we need to talk, you're actions today go against everything it means to be an aura guardian. We're the bringers and guardians of peace, not the wielders of justice. Your powers should never be used to try and kill someone."

"I'm sorry Master Atticus I lost control", Ash replied.

"Yes you did, it seems although you may be the most gifted user I've seen in my life you still lack the qualities it takes to be a true master of aura. Ash every student we take at the temples must learn discipline and one of the first things we teach is never let your emotions cloud your aura. Strong emotions can alter what your aura does, your anger today caused a massive explosion that's only objective was to destroy everything around you. Ash the effort has not only left Edward clinging to life by a thread it nearly killed you as well", Atticus continued.

"I'm sorry, I really am", Ash apologised

"Ash apologising over and over again won't change things", Atticus replied.

"So what should I do?" Ash asked.

"Learn to control that anger and turn it into something good. Like I said students are taught discipline and now it seems you need this lesson as well, but I can't give it to you", Atticus replied.

"Then who can?" Ash asked.

"Someone who is older and wiser than myself. Ash the aura guardians have always had a message that has been passed down from master to master for over two hundred years. The message say that one day a massively powerful aura guardian will appear and he will face a battle more dangerous and crucial than any mission the aura guardians have faced for longer than we can remember. When this guardian appears, when all seems lost and out of control for him and the world we must send him to the lost island where he'll face a trial and gain the wisdom he'll need to bring balance back to himself and the world. Ash me and the other guardians believe that this message is about you and now is the time. Ash give me your watch and I'll program the island into it, Ash you need to leave right away the tide of this war is starting to turn against us again. We need you back and fighting fit", Atticus answered.

"I'm supposed to be waiting for Steven, he wants to talk to me", Ash replied.

"Leave Steven to me, grab your pokemon and get going. Oh Ash I forgot the trial is located in a cave in the center of the island and it must be taken by you and your Lucario alone. No other help and that means your gadgets and your pokemon. Once you reach the entrance to the trial you'll have to leave Pikachu and your remaining pokemon with the watch and everything else", Atticus replied as Ash pushed himself off the bed grabbing his pokeballs placing them back on his belt grabbing his backpack swinging it on his back moving with Atticus out the bedroom and through the office into the main base. "Good luck Ash, I'll see you again soon", Master Atticus said and Ash nodded moving off towards the lift as Master Atticus went the other way.

Ash knows he should probably talk to Misty before he leaves, but the fear he saw in her face before is stopping him. He needs to regain control and show her he's still the same guy she fell in love with before they see each other again. Ash can't lose her he loves her to much to let that happen.


	22. A New Plan

Misty is really starting to wish that Ash never got messed up in this Immortals business. Everyday since he came back with her cure she feels like she's losing him just that little more and todays actions just clarify how right she is. Today is the first time she's truly feared what Ash is capable of doing. She's seen how strong his aura is, but she never thought he could ever try and kill someone. Yes Edward is an asshole, but he doesn't deserve to die. Ash nearly killed himself in the process as well, at least this time he was only out for an hour not six weeks like the last time she nearly lost him. She doesn't know whether to be angry with him or worried about him right now.

Misty stepped into the conference room and Steven and the other champions looked up from the documents that are laid out on the table in front of them, "Hi Misty, is Ash awake?", Steven asked.

"Yeah a few minutes ago and I told him you wanted to speak to him", Misty replied moving towards Steven getting a look at the documents covering the table. They all seem to be maps of different areas of the world along with notes about calls for help and assistance.

"Change of plan Misty, mine and Ash's showdown is going to have wait, we've got bigger problems to solve first and we need Ash's help. He's still in a lot of trouble, but right now people need his help and I know that the Ash we saw today isn't the real one. He's over tired and stressed from everything going on. Misty go and get Ash, I'm calling an emergency meeting. I'll explain more when everyone else is here", Steven explained and Misty nodded giving each champion a small smile before moving out back the way she came.

Misty spotted Brock moving down the corridor towards her and he was her giving her a wave. They reached each other outside her and Ash's room and she gave him a small smile, "Steven's called a meeting any idea what it's about?" ,Brock asked.

"No idea, but I think we've got a lot of trouble to deal with, I think we've got a lot of calls for assistance coming in since what happened in Pallet. I think people are starting to worry what will happen to them if Team Infinta finds out they've been helping us. Right better grab Ash and get to the meeting. You going to walk with us?" ,Misty replied and Brock nodded at her.

Misty stepped through the door and Brock followed. Both moved through the office part stepping into the bedroom stopping as they both spotted the empty bed. "He's gone", Misty said looking around the room for any signs of where he might of gone spotting that his pokeballs and backpack were missing from where she had left them after they brought Ash into the room. "I think he's gone Brock."

"Gone where Misty?" Brock asked.

"I think he's left the island. I think he's left the resistance and I think it's my fault. I said he was a monster no one wants to hear that from their girlfriend he's probably left thinking it's the best thing for everyone", Misty replied tears starting to slide down her face. Brock's arms reached around pulling her close to his body and his hand started to pat her back.

"Misty I'm sure it's got nothing to do with you, he probably needs space to think about his actions and his next steps he'll be back before to long back to his old self", Brock assured Misty and Misty nodded at him.

"Yeah you're right he's going to come back. Well we better get to this meeting Steven is going to be happy to hear Ash has disappeared", Misty said and Brock let her go before frowning giving a nod to the last part about Steven.

"Misty we've got to stand by Ash's side he's going to need our support after today. He's going to have a lot of people's trust and approval he can't afford to lose us as well. Misty I know what happened today was scary, but tell me you don't still love him."

"I do still love him Brock of course I do, but I'm not going to lie he scared me today and he knows that. It's going to be hard to get over that, I don't know if we'll ever be the same again", Misty admitted and Brock nodded.

"I know Misty, come on it's bad enough Ash isn't is here we can't make the meeting wait to start because we aren't there yet", Brock replied and Misty nodded moving out the door with Brock out of her and Ash's quarters and down the corridor towards the conference room.

Most of the seats as the table were already filled by the time Misty and Brock entered the room. Steven and the other champions seemed to have called everyone of importance to this meeting. The aura guardians were all sat together at the end of the table. Most of Ash's and Misty's friends were sat close to the door with three seats empty probably for her, Ash and Brock. Misty and Brock slide down into the two of the seats leaving the one at the end free. The seat didn't stay empty for long Alec slid down in it leaning forward towards Misty, "Misty I know we've not really spoken much since I got here, but I want you to know Ash is safe and you'll meet up again soon I promise", Alec whispered so only her and him could hear.

"How do you know?" Misty asked.

"I had a string of visions just after the incident in Edward's room, Ash is heading towards...", Alec started to explain, but stopped as Steven cleared his throat and Alec turned to look at Steven along with everyone else sat around the room.

"Okay so I've called this meeting to discuss our next steps. After what happened in Pallet Town earlier today we've got an alarming amount of calls for help from all over the regions around the world. Mostly from our spies around who are worried about the safety of their friends and families if their allegiance to the resistance is discovered, but also from scared members of the public. Before I get into that more though I see that we're missing one person from our meeting. Misty where is Ash?"

"Steven I don't know. When I got back to the room it was empty, Ash's pokeballs and backpack was gone and there was no clue to what happened or where he's gone", Misty answered.

"Maybe I can be of assistance", Master Atticus announced from the bottom of the table. Misty turned to look at him and she could see Steven and the other champions attention was focused on Master Atticus as well. "You see after Misty left to come and see you Steven I visited Ash to have a conversation about what happened in Edward's room. Ash is an aura guardian and is bound by certain rules which have to be enforced by me and the other Masters. One of them is never all your emotions to cloud you judgement and never ever use our abilities to cause serious harm. We both agreed he needed to learn how to control his emotions and so right he is on the way to an island that is scared to the aura guardians. While he is there he's learn to control himself and find a way to help fight back against Team Infinta and the Immortals. He's been doing well so far, but we're so outclassed and if we're to beat them he needs to be in control not just of himself, but also wisdom that can help finish this whole thing forever", Master Atticus continued.

"You sent him away from the island", Misty said and Master Atticus nodded. Ash might have been sent from the island, but he still didn't speak to her before he left and that hurts.

"He knew I wanted to speak to him and yet he left", Steven added and Master Atticus nodded again.

"Yes he did to both bits, but I told him I would talk to you. I know we're all part of the resistance and I have no right to decide what each member does, but Ash is also an Aura guardian and I do have the right to guide Ash in that respective. Steven I promise he'll be back soon and the events of today will never happen again. Steven even though we might not agree on what we need to do about todays events regarding Ash, but I'm sure we both smart enough to know we still need Ash as he's the only person who can end this war. Lucida is our only hope and Ash alone is the only one who can wake her and work with her to defeat the Immortals", Master Atticus replied and Steven nodded.

"Okay you're right he is an aura guardian and that allows you guide Ash when it comes to that, but he is a important part of the resistance so you should of spoken to me about it before you sent him away. Normally I would of probably agreed that sending him away was the right thing to do, but today isn't one of the those days we need him here right now. I guess it can't be helped now he's gone and he'll be back soon I'm sure", Steven countered and Master Atticus nodded.

"Tomorrow afternoon to night depending on how fast he makes his way back here after finishing the trial he has to face on that island", Master Atticus answered.

"Okay well lets get down to business and talk about the reason I called you all here today again, Misty I'm going to need you to bring Ash up to date when he gets back if that's okay with you", Steven said taking control of the conversation again and turning it back to the original reason they're all there for. Misty nodded at Steven and he gave her a small smile before continuing, "So we've received massive amounts of calls from around the world and now we've got to answer every single one of them if we're to keep the fight back against Team Infinta going. The attack on Pallet has scared a lot of people, but it's also had another effect on people as well it's made them see what monsters Team Infinta are and we've got calls from people wanting to join our cause as well. We've already sent one of the carriers away from the island to the Kalos region to collect a group of people who have called for help."

"But we're pushed for space here already", Misty commented and everyone in the room nodded at her.

"The resistance is growing, the only problem is we haven't got the room to house everyone here like Misty said so we've got to decide on a cause of action for the resistance. I think it's time we stop this attack from the shadows and retreat method once we've completed our mission. I think it's because we've been using the course of action is part of the reason other than to hurt Ash that Team Infinta attacked Pallet Town. They needed someone to attack and because they can't find us because they don't know where we're based Pallet was a good second choice. I think the longer we stay hidden the more places will get attacked to send a message. They've attacked Pallet how long till they turn their attention to other home towns like mine or Cynthia. No where is safe while they still control the world", Steven continued.

"So what's the plan then?", Ritchie asked ten seats down from Misty.

"We need to come out into the open and face Team Infinta head on. I think it's always been heading in this direction since the day they took control. I think we're heading for a full blown war with every region being a different battlefield. We need to take control of every region again if we're to win this war. The final battle will take place in the Grandis region because that is where Ash must go to wake up Lucida, but we could do without being attacked from the other regions once we get there", Cynthia answered taking control of the meeting over from Steven. Misty could see a large amount of the rooms occupants weren't convinced about taking back the regions.

"We do need to take control of the regions you're right, but it won't be easy. Just look at how easy they fell in the first place", Master Axel said and there were quite a few nods around the room mostly the ones who Misty saw weren't convinced about taking the regions a few seconds ago.

"Yes they did fall quite easily, but that's because they weren't ready, we weren't ready. The days that followed the Immortals being awoken were hectic and confusing. We lost a good percentage of our forces to prison. I was battling to escape the region with May, Max and the small group of people we managed to save and Ash was only just clinging onto life after throwing himself in front of Misty to save her. None of us were in any shape to fight back at that moment. This time will be different, the resistance is larger, stronger and most of all aware of what Team Infinta is capable of now. This time we're the ones attacking without warning in the first region, yes as we move around the regions it'll get harder, but it's a battle we need to fight. We're not asking for anyone who doesn't feel up to it to leave this island, they can stay here and help to fight this battle from here keeping up to date on everything going on around the world", Steven explained.

"We need to head to the regions anyway, Ash needs to collect the items from the temples dotted around the world and I guess if we have control of the regions it'll be a lot easier. Another idea is if the main force is trying to reclaim the region that will provide a big enough distraction for Ash's smaller group to get to the temple and grab the items before joining the fight as well", Misty stated and Steven nodded at her.

"Misty is right about either plan, but the second one could be tweaked as well, so instead of a small group of people going with Ash he takes lets say a quarter or little under a half of the members of the resistance with him and then once he's finished the temple while the first groups fights from one side he arrives and attacks from the rear surprising them", Steven added and Misty could see everyone in the room was starting to agree with the champions plan to retake the regions.

"Which is our first stop if we do go?", Brock asked.

"Kanto", Diantha answered. "Kanto is the most fragile at the moment after todays events and it connects to Johto as well so once we retake Kanto, it's only a short journey to reach Johto. We've yet to finalize a plan, but it's coming together bit by bit" Diantha continued.

"When will we leave the island?", Dawn asked.

"Well there's a lot to sort out so not for a couple of weeks at least. During that time we won't be sitting around twiddling out thumbs we'll continue our attack from the shadows and retreat plan to weaken them regions ready for our new plan. We've got to gather our allies who will join our main force and prep the allies we have dotted around the regions so they're ready to join us once we reach them and we've still got all these calls for help to complete as well", Alder answered.

"We do have another important mission to undertake before we attack the regions and that is to have somewhere to send the members of Team Infinta that we manage to capture. Me and my fellow champions have decided that we haven't got time to create somewhere new, we need to take the one place that's already fitted to take prisoners. The plan is to send a force to take the prison that Team Infinta imprisoned so many of us and once we've got control of it to upgrade the security using some of the great devices that our scientists have managed to create they should be able to hold of anyone who attacks long enough for us to send reinforcements", Steven continued taking over from Alder.

"You mean send Ash there don't you, because you know who they'll send to attack the prison if we control it, any of the five Immortals", Misty said and Steven nodded.

"Misty if they do send an Immortal to the prison then yes we'll have to send Ash, but I think the Immortals will be used to try and keep the regions. We need to use the information Ash told us earlier to our advantage if they are being used to try and keep control of the regions. We need to take out the person controlling the Immortal and then it'll give us time to gain an advantage over Team Infinta", Steven answered and Misty nodded. "Right lets move on from attacking the regions for now we'll discuss it more at length at a different meeting in a few days when we'll have more information on what we plan to do, but also have Ash back", Steven added and everyone round the room nodded some slightly forced, but most people were starting to come round to the champions plan.

"So what's next on the agenda?" Max asked.

"The calls for help they massive, but to start of with I want to discuss one certain call for help. This call for help that has come to my attention requires attention as soon as possible and it has been to done by a certain group of people. The call for help is asking for certain people and the only problem is one of them missing from this meeting since someone decided to send him away on a mission that agreed by the rest of the resistance, but lets not get back into that now. Master Atticus it comes from the group of islands you used to call home, every island in that region is calling out for help. A couple of the islands are calling out for Ash in particular along with his friends who journeyed with him the last time he went there for Misty's cure", Steven explained.

"The Miracle islands are in trouble", Master Atticus repeated and Steven nodded.

"Yes, we've got calls from every island saying that Team Infinta has arrived and seem to be there for some reason. At the moment it's only like groups of five members of each island, but more are coming", Steven explained.

"They're scouting parties", Max said and Steven nodded at him.

"That's what we thought as well", Cynthia said joining the conversation.

"But what are they after?", a guy whose name Misty can't seem to place asked.

"Steven one of the calls for assistance did it come from an old guy by the name of Tom who lives in a place called the Terra Estate", May asked joining the conversation. Misty looked at her and knew why she asked, if the answer is yes then Misty knows what Team Infinta is after on the islands. It should of been obvious from the moment the islands were mentioned. Misty looked around at all her friends who accompanied Ash there and could see that they've all come to the same reasoning.

"Yeah how did you know?" Steven asked.

"Because we know why they're there and it should of been obvious from the beginning. Actually it's a surprise it's taken them so long to head there, when we first met Edward during our journey to the temple in the Grandis region we spoke quite a bit about my illness and Ash's journey to get the cure including every ingredients that was in and where he found them. Team Infinta is after all of them and that's not good because each one has amazing healing powers, but if mixed together they are the most powerful potion the world has ever seen. If they get their hands on that we'll never beat them because no matter how many times we take out an Immortal they'll just give them some of the potion from the islands and they'll be back on their feet and back to full strength in seconds they are that potent I should know. I was at death's door and within hours I was feeling better than I had in weeks. We need to get there as soon as possible to stop them from getting their hands on any of the items from those islands", Misty answered re-joining the conversation.

"Yes we do, the carrier is being readied for take off as we speak it should be ready to leave in two hours", Steven added and Misty nodded.

"We need Ash though. Master Atticus where is this island you've sent him?" Misty asked turning to look at Atticus again.

"South of here, it's actually on the way to the Miracle islands. Can I make a suggestion Steven", Master Atticus replied.

"Sure fire away", Steven countered.

"You say the carrier will be ready in two hours well use it, but not for a trip to the miracle islands", Master Atticus replied.

"What do you have in mind?" Cynthia asked.

"Well the carrier is ready to fly, so let use it for a rescue mission to one of the surroundings mission so it'll be back by late tonight. We then refuel it and then the group that is heading to the Miracle islands board it and set off a few hours before sunrise setting a course for the island I sent Ash to. That will give Ash enough time to finish the trial and the carrier can land and pick him up before heading to the Miracle islands. They'll reach the first island a couple of hours before midday and then they can get to work. If we send them now they'll arrive late tonight and they won't really be able to get to work till tomorrow morning anyway, we'll only be losing two, three hours at most if we delay them leaving..."

"And we'll have completed a rescue mission today in a nearby region", Max said taking over and everyone nodded.

"Well that seems like a good plan, so lets do it. There's a call for help coming from the Orange Islands so we can send the carrier there and have it back ready for the next journey to the Miracle islands. Anyone who wants to join this mission please stay here, everyone else you're dismissed. Misty could I have a quick word before you leave as well please", Steven said and everyone nodded.

Everyone filed out the room still there was only a group of twenty people who wanted to join the mission to the Orange Islands, Misty and the champions were left still in the room.

Steven motioned for Misty to follow him into the corner so only they could hear each other, Misty could tell the other champions already knew what Steven was about to say to her so it didn't matter to them, but the others that had stayed were trying to listen as carefully as they could to see if they could pick anything up. Steven must of come to the same conclusion before he only spoke in a quiet tone, "Misty I know I said that they're asking for the people who journeyed with Ash to head to the islands, but I know you want to go as well so you can. Misty I'll also allow one more person to join the group, but no more, the main party must be made up of the people who journeyed to get your cure if the people on the islands are to accept our help and also help the resistance"

"No let's keep it as just the six that went the first time plus me. I can't think of anyone I could take anyway right now. Since we're taking Tracey we'll need to leave Gary to help the professors look after the pokemon in the habitat and he would of been my only choice really."

"Well it's up to you, if you do think of anyone before you leave it's okay with me and the other champions. Misty you mentioned the items that grow on the islands, well we need some of it if we're to win this war so talk to Ash and see if between the two of you, you can obtain some. Misty you're in charge of the team until you meet up with Ash, so get everyone ready take anything you need from the supply storage and be ready to leave when the carrier is finished fuelling. I'm going to join the team who are heading to the Orange Islands so we probably won't get the chance to talk till you get back, but give Ash a message, no more will come of what happened today as long as he promises never to let it happen again", Steven replied and Misty gave him a quick nod.

"Will do, right I'll let you sort out the mission to the Orange Islands see you when we my group returns from the Miracle Islands", Misty answered and Steven returned her earlier nod moving back towards the table to start the briefing about the mission to the Orange Islands.

Misty moved across the room to the door stepping out closing the door behind her walking into Master Atticus who seemed to be waiting for her. Master Atticus steadied her before letting her go again, "Misty I wondered if I could just have a quick word about Ash", Master Atticus asked.

"Sure", Misty replied.

"I know you're probably annoyed Ash didn't tell you he was leaving, but I think he thought it would be for the best. Misty he scared you today didn't he?" Master Atticus continued.

"Yes he did", Misty admitted.

"Misty no boyfriend wants to hear those words from their girlfriend. He's angry and ashamed of himself for what he's done. Misty I gave him an ear bashing today about responsibilities of an aura guardian, but no matter what I could say nothing could compare to the regret he was feeling about scaring you. Misty I can see you two love each other unconditionally so I know what was going through Ash's head at the moment he left without speaking to you because I used to love someone that much. I ruined it by doing one stupid thing that there was no way to come back from and i think he feels he's done the same. I believe he thinks if he can prove that he's still the same guy you fell for there's a chance he can save what you two have. Misty him leaving had nothing to do with being an aura guardian or even finding the wisdom to finish the war against the Immortals and Team Infinta it's about gaining control so that you and him can try and sort things out that how much he cares about you, he willing to face whatever Steven is going to throw at him if it means your relationship can survive. Misty the worrying thing is if there ever comes a time when he has to decide about saving you or saving the world he would choose you", Master Atticus explained.

Misty couldn't help, but think he's right about every single part of it. Ash is willing to give up everything for her, he put his own life at risk so many times to save her. Fighting a storm to get her cure back to her, jumping in front of Umbra's attack to save her and that just the recent ones. "Master Atticus thank you, I think you're right about all of it. Me and Ash need to talk when we pick him up, but I think we're going to be fine. I better start preparing for the mission to the Miracle Islands, I'm sure we'll talk again soon", Misty answered and Master Atticus nodded moving up the corridor as she moved down it.

"Misty wait up I need to talk to you", a voice shouted from behind her and she turned watching as Alec flew past Master Atticus skidding to a stop behind her clutching his side fighting for breath. "Misty...I...need..to come...with you...to the islands", Alec continued fighting for breath.

"Alec I'm not really looking for any more people to come with us, sorry", Misty apologised.

"Misty you don't understand I need to come, you're going to need me", Alec replied straightening up. "Misty if you want everyone of your friends to return from this mission alive you're going to need me to come with you trust me", Alec added quickly before Misty could reply.

Misty looked at Alec thinking about how much Ash says he trusts him and Alec does seem really serious about needing to come. The last part about everyone coming back is starting to worry her. If she refuses and someone does get hurt or worse killed she's going have to live with the fact there was a chance she could of saved them if she had just let Alec come. Steven said she could take one more person and Alec has seemed to help quite a bit since Ash met him so I guess there's no harm in allowing him to come, "Alec okay you can come, walk with me I would like to get to know you a bit better before we leave", Misty replied and Alec nodded giving her a large smile as they moved down the corridor together.


	23. Wisdom & Trust

"This cave goes on forever". Ash commented turning to face Lucario who is walking beside him. Ash didn't get any response from Lucario; Lucario didn't act like he had even heard Ash. Ash isn't surprised Lucario hasn't said anything to Ash since the moment they entered the cave. Which Ash is sure is close to an hour ago, but he can't be sure since he left his watch outside the cave with Pikachu and everything else like Master Atticus said he needed to.

The journey to the island was quite easy really. About an hour after they left the island where the resistance is based they gained a really strong tailwind that sped them up quite a bit, Charizard didn't have to flap his wings to much to keep up a good pace. About a couple of miles away from the islands started to sense a sort of energy coming from the island, but no matter how hard he looked he couldn't see anything to explain what the energy was. The only explanation Ash can think of it's some type of aura that must be there to defend the island from anyone who isn't an aura guardian. Ash can't blame them if he's right about it being some sort of defence the island is beautiful. It's untouched by man, so the vegetation and pokemon have been left to grow and live naturally. The whole island is a sea of different colours, trees that have grown close to the size of skyscrapers, rivers that hold waters as clear as glass and pokemon who live with no fear of anything. If Ash had time he would have loved to stay here and try and capture a few to join his current set of pokemon back at the island the resistance calls home.

Ash had Charizard fly round the island a few times trying to find the best place to land and he did see two locations to land, a beach at the edge of the island and a small plate of rock jutting out from a group of trees but choose the one further away as the second one didn't give much room for landing if anything went wrong. While flying round the island before landing Ash looked for the cave that he was meant to head into, but couldn't see it and would understand why upon his arrival, it was a secret the island and the aura guardians wanted to keep out of sight from anyone who stumbled upon the island.

As soon as Charizard landed on the beach Ash jumped off and fished out some food to give to Charizard to give him back some of his strength before telling him to take a well earned rest in his pokeball. Lucario exited his pokeball looking at Ash before turning moving up the beach in land moving to the start of the tree line. Ash ran after him catching up with him half way up the beach. Ash tried to start a conversation with Lucario, but soon realised Lucario didn't want to speak to him so resigned himself to move further in land with Lucario in silence. When they reached the tree line Ash noticed that although the island seemed to have been left untouched a single pathway seemed to have been created which he and Lucario followed all the way across the island for the next two hours slowly moving up hill till they reached the area where he had spotted the plate of rock he thought about landing on instead.

Lucario stopped as soon as they reached in turning to Ash, "I think we're close to the cave, I think it's time we leave Pikachu and everything else behind." Ash didn't understand how Lucario could know this, but nodded letting Pikachu jump off his shoulder before sliding his backpack off placing it on the floor next to Pikachu. Ash released all his pokemon before placing the pokeballs in the bag. Ash built a fire and dished out food for all his pokemon just encases he and Lucario were gone for an extended amount of time. Ash had told all his pokemon that Pikachu was in charge and that he be back as soon as he could. Ash let Lucario take the lead again following him till they reached a set of steps that led to the highest point of the island around sunset. The cave was sat in the middle of a circle of trees even larger than the ones rest of the trees covering the island. At first Ash thought they had come to the wrong place because he saw no entrance just a huge block of rock sat in the middle of the clearing.

It wasn't until he got a bit closer he understood, one last defence put here by the aura guardians. There was some writing carved into the area where the door was telling them what to do. Ash didn't understand what it said, but Lucario explained that the writing although not as old as the writing found in the temples they visited to collect the items to wake Lucida the writing is still quite old. It took a few minutes, but Lucario managed to decipher enough to understand that only when Ash and Lucario placed one of their hands/paws on the rock and were deemed worthy to enter would the entrance to cave appear allowing them to enter. As soon as they had both stepped through the cave sealed itself again leaving them in complete darkness.

Lucario and Ash keep taking it in turns to light the way with a ball of aura that they keep formed in their hands for as long as possible. At first Ash was slightly worried about using his aura again just encase his loss of control had effected it earlier, but after a while he started to relax a bit and just used it like it was second nature. Lucario let his ball of aura disappear and darkness enveloped him and Ash until Ash summoned a new ball of aura to his hand lighting their path again.

The easy journey and Lucario's silence have given Ash a lot of time to think about things and he's realised that he's started to lose himself bit by bit everyday this war continues. People died today because he is part of the resistance, but that isn't his fault he realises that and he knows if he could take to the people of Pallet Town they would say the same. It's Team Infinta's fault they're the monsters in this war, but his actions in Edward's cell nearly made him as bad as them.

He scared Misty today and even if they do manage to repair the damage to their relationship there will always be something different about them which no amount of apologies and good acts can change. Ash will help end this war with Team Infinta and the Immortals, but then he doesn't know what the future holds for him anymore. He loves Misty, but she deserves better, maybe the best thing for her, no maybe everyone would be if he just left one day and never came back. Lived his life somewhere he can't hurt or scare them again.

Ash thinks that the cave must cover most of the island there's so many twists and turns, but Ash is sure slowly they are heading downhill back towards the edge of the island. Ash and Lucario moved round another corner moving along a small corridor. Both Ash and Lucario stopped in their tracks as they realised they had finally reached their destination. They're stood in a cavern which seems to be lit up by hundreds of blue crystals that are sticking out walls and roof of the cavern.

"Whoa this is amazing no need for this ball of aura anymore", Ash said and Lucario nodded at Ash before looking around the cavern. Ash let the ball of aura fade before looking round the cavern as well stopping as he spotted the amount of crystal sat at the other side of the cavern. "Lucario you think that's what we're supposed to head towards", Ash asked and Lucario nodded moving towards it without waiting for Ash.

Ash jogged to catch up with Lucario before walking at Lucario's pace heading towards the formation of crystal. As Ash and Lucario got closer to the crystal Ash started to realise that the crystal seemed to be the shape of a temple, the sort of thing you would have seen over two hundred years ago and what he had expected the temple to look like on Aura Island.

Ash and Lucario reached the temple made of crystal and while Lucario stopped Ash moved to the left looking for someway in. He had expected the entrance to be at the front like a normal temple, but there was just a wall of crystal. Ash continued round the side of the temple only stopping as he reached the wall of cavern so without finding a way in. Ash turned back around moving back towards the front where he had left Lucario.

Lucario looked at Ash as he moved back round and Ash opened his mouth to explain he was going to head round the other side of the temple to look for the door, but Lucario spoke first, "Ash you won't a door on that side either, this temple is like the entrance to the cave it'll only show itself to those who are worthy, but unlike the entrance to the cave the writing on the temple ask for more, the writing reads like this only the guardian who is truly worthy of the knowledge held within shall be allowed to enter the temple, they must be pure of heart and have a perfect relationship with their partner pokemon. They must both know and trust each other to the highest degree for the door to open for them."

"Okay I see, shall we give it a go then?" Ash asked and Lucario nodded motioning for Ash to stand beside him. Ash moved to stand beside him and they both stepped forward pressing their hand/paw to the temple wall waiting for the door to open. Ash looked at the wall for any sign of the door, but even after standing there for a good minute with his hand pressed against the wall nothing happened, no door appeared. "How long should we stay like this?" Ash asked.

"I think if it was going to open it would of done it right away Ash", Lucario answered taking his paw away moving a few steps back from the temple turning around looking back the way they came.

"But why didn't it open for us?" Ash asked moving to stand next to Lucario.

"We don't fit the criteria to open the door it seems", Lucario answered.

"Is it because of me? Because of what I did earlier? Or was Master Atticus wrong about me being the guardian who the knowledge was meant for", Ash asked.

"Ash I think even though you attacked Edward today you're still pure of heart and I'm sure you're the guardian who the knowledge within was meant for. We're facing a threat like nothing the world has seen, the Immortals are stronger than anything I think the world will ever see again", Lucario answered.

"Then what is it, because I trust and know you..." Ash stopped realising why the door won't open, "It because you don't feel you can trust or know me isn't it", Ash added and Lucario looked away from Ash. Ash just thought Lucario was giving him the silent treatment because he annoyed with Ash and that in time they could sort it out, but he never thought Lucario would lose faith in him completely. Ash had been so worried about Misty and the champions he forgot about how important it is to keep Lucario's trust. Ash needs his help if he's to end this battle with the Immortals.

"Ash I thought I know the sort of person you were, but today's actions have thrown me. I was in my pokeball and I felt your anger, your power, but worse of all you weren't in control of yourself. If you hadn't overexerted yourself and passed out who knows what would have happened. Ash you nearly killed yourself and then where would the world be. Ash I gave up everything to come back to help you defeat the Immortals, but worse Sir Aaron used everything that made him to give you the chance of victory and you nearly threw it all away Ash", Lucario answered.

"Lucario I'm sorry", Ash whispered.

"Ash I know you are, but sorry won't change what happened. An aura guardian is supposed to protect the peace to keep the world in balance not to use their abilities to bring justice or vengeance to someone. I've been teaching you how to use and control your abilities, but maybe I should of been teaching you how to control yourself", Lucario answered.

"So where does this leave us then?" Ash asked.

"I don't know Ash, I really don't know anymore", Lucario answered.

"Lucario we need to get inside the temple so can't you just forgive me and we just agree to talk about this later once we've got the wisdom", Ash suggested.

"No Ash we can't, I know the wisdom is important, but I believe my trust deserved by earned. Ash I'm sorry, but I don't think that we're going to be able to fit the criteria to enter the temple anytime soon, you're going to have to earn my trust back bit by bit and that's going to take time", Lucario answered and Ash nodded slightly annoyed that Lucario being so stubborn.

"So is there any point staying here if we can't enter the temple?" Ash asked.

"We've got no where else to go, so there's no point leaving this cavern", Lucario answered.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Ash do you remember the writing it took me a while to decipher at the entrance to the cave", Lucario asked and Ash nodded at him, "Well I didn't actually decipher it all before entered the cave, there was a bit that was eluded me. It wasn't till we were most of the way towards this cavern that I finally deciphered all the writing. Ash this island has been used by the aura guardians for hundreds of years to help guardians who have lost their way or fallen out with their partner pokemon. Although it only takes the touch of an aura guardian to enter the cave, you can only enter if the aura guardian and the pokemon are in true harmony", Lucario added.

"So you mean we're trapped in this cave?" Ash asked and Lucario nodded. "Well that's just great isn't it? I left everything outside the cave including Pikachu and he thinks we were only going to a little while. Lucario we've got no food or water and you're telling me that until I earn your trust we're going to be stuck in this stupid cave", Ash added and Lucario nodded.

"Well I'm not just going to stand round here doing nothing, while you decide whether your pride is going to stand in the way of us getting out of here, I'm going to use this time to work on my aura", Ash replied moving off back towards the other side of the cavern.

Ash continued till he reached the middle of the cavern taking a deep breath summoning aura to both hands before moving through all the different manipulations that Lucario had taught him or Ash had stumbled upon by himself. Ash could see Lucario was watching him, but he didn't care he just pretended he couldn't see him moving onto a new manipulation once he was sure he couldn't learn anymore about the manipulation he had been working on.

Ash continued to work on his aura manipulations for about an hour before something both Lucario and Master Atticus had mentioned in different ways came to him. He may be great at using aura and manipulating it, but he has a lot to learn about controlling himself and his emotions. He needs to find a way to control is emotions at all time, maybe working on finding inner peace is the way to start. Ash felt a wave of memories rush into the front his mind and he closed his eyes watching as Sir Aaron spent time perfecting the art of meditation so he would always be in control of his actions even in the heat of battle.

Ash opened his eyes sliding down to the floor crossing his legs placing his hands closing his eyes and slowing his breathing like he watched Aaron do in the memory. Ash focused on getting his breathing steady and relaxed before allowing his mind to wander to a happy place. Ash allowed a memory of Misty and him sat in the park in Cerulean City just after she was discharged from the hospital. That was a wonderful day and after this is all over maybe they can have more of them.

Ash could hear a set of footsteps moving towards him, but he didn't open his eyes he focused on keeping his mind clear and focusing on that happy memory. "Ash what are you doing?" Lucario's voice echoed inside Ash's head.

Ash opened his eyes looking up at Lucario, "Trying to find inner peace, I just witnessed a memory of Aaron learning to meditate so I thought I give it a go", Ash answered.

"It takes time to truly find inner peace", Lucario replied.

"Well seems we've got time so now is as good a time as any to give it a go", Ash replied closing his eyes again not waiting for Lucario's answer. Ash felt Lucario slid down next to him, but Lucario didn't say anything so Ash focused on his meditation again returning to that happy moment with Misty before allowing his mind to move onto different memories from the days and weeks that followed that date with Misty keeping his mind and emotions as calm as possible as he sorted through them.

Ash wasn't sure how much time had passed since Lucario had sat down next to him, but he felt a strange feeling and presence emanating from him and his left hand rose up from his leg on it's own shooting out and he felt it come into contact with Lucario. Ash felt the urge to open his mouth a voice that wasn't his own, but Ash recognised it as Sir Aaron's echo out of it, "My old friend is this really how you're going to let things happen. You returned to that world to help save it not to stay stuck in that cave while the world still needs you. Everyone makes mistakes you've got to let what happened go. Ash is sorry and he regrets his actions, but I think we all know you already know that. You were always stubborn Lucario, but I also know you would never put yourself before the world. Lucario we both gave up so the world could have a chance of surviving and I think you're going to have to do it once again. Forgive Ash and move on the world needs you both and you need that wisdom you've come for. Lucario I'll always be with you because a part of me now lives within Ash, he's a great guy and the hero this world needs." Ash felt Aaron's presence fade and he opened his eyes looking at Lucario who opened his eyes and wiped away the tears that had formed in them.

"Come on Ash, lets go and open that temple", Lucario said and Ash nodded pushing himself off the floor at the same time as Lucario.

"Lucario I am sorry about what I did I really am", Ash explained.

"I know Ash, but lets just put that behind us where it belongs, we're partners and that means having each others back no matter what. I was just being stubborn earlier, I know who you really you really are. Like Aaron said you're the hero this world needs right now", Lucario replied leading Ash back across the cavern to the temple. Ash and Lucario looked at each other before pressing their hands to the temple feeling the temple react and a round hole appear a few feet from them.

Ash and Lucario crawled through the hole standing up straight once inside. Ash couldn't help, but let out a cry of surprise as he looked around the area they arrived in. Sat in the middle of the room encased in crystal is a man dressed in the attire of an aura guardian and on either side of him is a crystal pillar with a glowing crystal ball sat on the top of them each one glowing blue.

Ash and Lucario moved over to the crystallised man looking at each other, "What do we do?" Ash asked.

"Sit down on the floor I guess, I think that the crystal holds the memory of this aura guardian just like the crystal at the tree held that memory of Sir Aaron. Ash we need to touch the crystal", Lucario replied and Ash nodded sliding down to the floor with Lucario crossing his legs before extending his hand out touching the crystallised man in the center of his chest.

"Welcome my fellow aura guardian, I've been expecting you. I don't know how many years it's been since I came to this island and encased my memories into the crystal you see before you", A voice echoed inside Ash's head.

"Hello Master", Ash replied sure that the guy must of been someone important to be charged with the mission to pass on the wisdom he's come for.

"If you're here today then it means my prophecy has come to pass, the world faces a great evil and you need my help so I should introduce myself before we get down to business a. My name is Master Crane and before I came here I had been in charge of a temple in the Sinnoh region for over thirty years training over a thousand aura guardians who went out to keep balance in the world. Over my years at the temple I tried to learn as much as I could about the history of the world because I always believed you could learn the most about the future by looking at the past and learning from what happened then and it was during those years I managed to learn the wisdom you have come here to seek. Most of the wisdom I uncovered from looking to the past I kept to myself so some of the things you're about to learn will not be known by any of the masters that oversee the training of new guardians. Over the years I received many visions about the world and it was because of my last vision that I ended up here. I saw the world burning and one guy stood side by side on a hill of rubble with a Lucario facing the shadows that are coming towards him. I must explain that my visions aren't always literal so don't read too much into it", the voice said before stopping allowing Ash to take in everything he said.

Ash looked over at Lucario who seems to be listening carefully to everything Master Crane is saying. Ash turned back to the Master Crane just as he started to speak again. "The wisdom you seek is very ancient and important so it can't be given to just anyone, it must be only given to someone who is truly worthy so a test must be taken. Before I go into that anymore you must first learn more about the history of the aura guardians and out predecessors so you'll truly understand the gift that will be bestowed on you if you pass the test. So even though I'm sure you believe time is short please I ask you listen for a while and take in everything I say because it'll help you in the future when you need to use the wisdom you seek. For years the aura guardians have kept balance in the world battling against anything that try to destroy that balance, but before us our ancestors went by many different names but strove to do the same thing keep balance in the world no matter what try to rise and destroy it. Our oldest ancestors who called themselves guardians of the light were the first believe humans to learn to control aura. I never found out how they learnt it, but rumours suggest that it was taught to them by someone", the voice continued and Ash looked over at Lucario and both nodded that they were thinking the same thing. They heard of the guardians of light before in the story Alan told them about the first battle with the Immortals. Could Lucida have been the one to teach them about aura, is the fact that Ash has the ability to use aura be one of the reason he was chosen as her champion a link to the first battle with her family and the humans that rose up to help her.

Master Crane continued to talk explaining how the power of aura was taught to each new group of protectors of the world until the aura guardians were formed and they took over the role of protecting the world and continued to explain everything he learnt about the past up to the point he received the vision and travelled to this island over two hundred years ago to wait for Ash and Lucario to arrive.

"So now that you've heard all I know the test/trial you must face has arrived, it is a simple one, but it can also be the hardest test a guardian must face in their lifetime. Knowledge and wisdom give you the power to know what's right and wrong, but power is addictive and more than one aura guardian has lost their way due to this. So this is the test the two crystal balls in front of you contain the wisdom you came here, but will only allow you to take them if they feel your both still pure and that your reasons for receiving this knowledge is just and honest. The left one is for you guardian and the right one if for your partner. So now I speak just to you great companion of this aura guardian, the crystal ball contains my partner's memories and aura he was the greatest companion a person could ask for and he travelled with to this island and gave up all his energy with mine to create this temple and everything you see inside. I hope it will help you stand by the side of your partner and bring peace back to the world. My fellow guardian the wisdom you seek which is contained in your crystal ball comes in two forms, long forgotten manipulations that will help you face the threat that now faces the world and my memories and aura that I hope will show you the way whenever you feel lost. So before you face this trial I just have one last thing to say to you, good luck and I hope you succeed", Master Crane explained.

Ash looked at Lucario who gave him a nod of encouragement before pushing himself off the floor to a standing position. Ash followed suit and they both stepped up to the pillars holding the crystal balls. "Ash just think about the reason you came here today, what you need the wisdom for", Lucario's voice echoed inside Ash's head and he nodded starting to whisper softly to himself as he moved his hand towards the crystal ball feeling a resistance emanating from the ball.

"For Misty, for my mum, for Brock, for May, for Max, for Dawn, for Gary, Tracey and Professor Oak, for Clemont and Bonnie, for Serena, for Iris and Cilan, but most of all for everyone in the world I've got to end this war so everyone can live in peace without having to live in worry and fear what will happen next." Every name he whispered the resistance lessened and as he mentioned doing it for the whole world the resistance disappeared completely and he felt his hand come in contact with the crystal ball. A rush of energy surged into Ash and he turned looking at Lucario seeing the same thing was happening to him. Lucario locked eyes with Ash and they nodded at each other as the wisdom surged into them bit by bit.

Ash felt the last of the energy surge into him the crystal ball disintegrated in his hand and he slumped to his knees hearing Lucario do the same thing. Ash took a load of quick breaths closing his eyes regaining composure before placing his hands in front of him pushing himself back upright.

Ash could see a change had occurred in the temple, the once glowing crystal was dimming and the temple was starting to crack. The crystallised form of Master Crane was slowly turning to a pile of dust in front of them, "Lucario we need to get out of here", Ash said and Lucario nodded moving with Ash to the entrance crawling out the hole. Both of them moved as quickly as they could from the temple only stopping and turning around once they were a safe distance to watch in crumble in on itself. "I think the energy in the crystal balls was the only thing keeping that temple together", Ash commented.

"I think you're right Ash. Well we got what we came for let's get back to the surface, Pikachu and the others must be worried it has to be close to morning by now we've been gone for hours", Lucario answered and Ash nodded following his partner across the rest of the cavern.

Ash and Lucario didn't waste anytime they marched back through the weaving path till they reached the entrance to the cave pressing their hands to the wall together watching as the entrance appeared and the light from the rising sun shone in. Ash stepped out taking a deep breath welcoming the lovely fresh morning air. Without a word to each other they continued on moving away from the cave and back towards the area they had left Pikachu and the others.

Ash and Lucario moved onto the slab of rock that they had left Pikachu and the others and Ash realised they weren't alone. Sat at the fire with her back to them stroking a happy Pikachu was a red headed girl Ash would recognise anywhere. Ash and Lucario walked right up behind her, but she didn't turn so Ash took a deep breath before speaking, "I'm sorry for leaving Misty."

Misty pushed stopped stroking Pikachu pushing herself up off the floor before turning to face Ash wrapping her arms round him pressing her lips to his keeping the contact with each other for a good thirty seconds before ending the kiss and replying to Ash. "You don't need to say sorry Ash, you needed to come here. Ash I'm not angry at you for leaving without speaking to me, because I know you only did what you thought was best for me. Ash I love you and I don't want to lose you so if you've got some silly idea about leaving me because you think that's what best for me then forget them right now."

"Okay understood Misty, I love you too and I don't know what I would do without you", Ash replied leaning forward quickly kissing Misty softly on the lips. Misty gave Ash and big smile and Ash returned happy to know that he and Misty will be okay.

"So did you find what you came here for?" Misty asked.

"Yes I did, it might take a little while to figure everything out, but I do feel we've got a chance now against the Immortals. Misty how did you get here by the way", Ash answered.

"Well that's great news, talking about news Ash I've got a lot to bring you up to speed with. Loads happened back at the island after you left yesterday that's sort of the reason I'm here now. One of the carriers is parked on the beach at the edge of the island with a group of our friends who waiting for us to return. I said I wanted to come and meet you so we could talk before we head off again and now that we have we can head back to them", Misty replied.

"Well let me just call everyone back to their pokeballs and grab something to eat and drink and then we can talk as we walk", Ash replied.

"Yes sounds good, but the walk going to have to be a fast one, the mission we're on today is an important one and time is already short", Misty answered and Ash nodded at her as he called back all his pokemon except Pikachu to their pokeballs. Ash grabbed his watch placing it back on his wrist, before moving over to his backpack taking out his water bottle taking a long drink from it trying to get as much as fast as he could. Ash placed the bottle back in the bag finding an energy bar that Brock made specially for him handing it to Misty as he zipped the bag back up sliding it on his shoulders.

Misty handed Ash the energy bar back to him taking Ash's free hand as Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder as Ash and Misty moved off. "So Misty where are we headed on this mission then?" Ash asked before taking a bite of the energy bar leading Misty onto the path that will lead them back to the beach and the others.

"The Miracle Islands Ash, people are calling for help and most of them were asking for you. I'll explain everything as we go. Oh yeah before I forget Steven told me to tell you, no more will come of the incident with Edward as long as it doesn't happen again", Misty answered.

"It won't I promise Misty", Ash said and Misty nodded smiling giving Ash's hand a squeeze and they moved down the path.


	24. Return To The Miracle Islands- Part 1

"Ash I'm sorry to have to wake you, but we've arrived at Heala Island", Ash heard Misty say as she lightly shook his shoulder pulling him out the peaceful sleep he had been in.

Misty had ordered him to go to sleep as soon as they reached the carrier back on the island that Master Atticus had sent him to. He didn't even get a chance to talk to any of their friends that had come along for the mission to the Miracle Islands. Ash tried to explain to Misty that no matter how hard he tries he can't seem to fall into a decent sleep anymore, but she just smiled at him and said she had the person thing to sort that. She told Ash to take off his clothes and get under the covers moving to the bed as well sitting down on the edge stroking his hair with one hand telling him that she loved him and that if he woke up before they reached the island she be in Brock's room down the hallway. Misty pulled a pokeball out her pocket calling out her newly caught Swablu asking it to use it's sing attack as soon as Misty leaves the room.

Misty explained to Ash on the way back to the carrier that she comes across this Swablu perched on a tree on the way to where she met Ash and after a hard fought battle she managed to beat it with Ash's Buizel. As she was about to leave to continue on her way to meet Ash a Breloom jumped down from a different tree challanging her to a battle and once again she beat it and caught it with Ash's Buizel. Now that she's caught some of her own pokemon that can battle without a water source she's happy to give Ash back his Buizel and Corphish that she's still borrowing, but Ash said she can keep using them till they return back to the resistance island since he's already got a full team himself.

Misty gave Ash a quick kiss on the lips stroking his hair before getting up from the bed moving to the door giving Ash a quick smile which he returned before stepping out the room. Ash was a aware of Swablu singing and his eyes growing heavier and then nothing else until Misty is waking him up now. It's worked wonders because he feels really refreshed and ready to face anything that's coming his way today, he might have to keep asking Misty to put him to sleep with her Swablu in future if the problem sleeping keeps occurring.

Ash allowed Misty to take a step back from the bed before throwing the covers off sliding off the bed stretching out his limbs while letting out a huge yawn. Misty handed him his clothes piece by piece and he pulled them on till he was fully dressed. "Okay I'm ready where is everyone?" Ash asked as Pikachu jumped from the chair he been sat on across the room running across the gap between him and Ash jumping up on Ash's back pulling himself up onto his usual position on Ash's shoulder.

"Waiting in the storage area ready to disembark", Misty answered and Ash nodded. Ash is glad that the team sent here is made up of the friends who came with him the first time plus Misty and strangely Alec.

Ash asked Misty why Alec was chosen, but all Misty could tell him what that Alec told her that they would need him if everyone was to come back alive. That comment slightly worries Ash, because he doesn't want to lose any of his friends so is quite happy to let him come along it means nobody gets hurt.

"Then let's go and join them then", Ash said and Misty nodded allowing Ash to lead her out the room and through the corridors of the carrier till they stepped into the storage joining their waiting friends. Ash gave them all a smile as he approached and they all returned it, "Okay so we've got to try and check on as many people as possible including Tom up in his estate. This is only the first of six islands that we need to visit and time is short so we need to be working as quickly and efficiently as we can", Ash explained.

"Then I suggest we split into two teams, one team led by you Ash goes up to the estate to check on Tom and the other group led by Brock goes round the town and checks on everybody there. We need to try and soothe as many people's concerns as possible, but if needed we can offer to take them back to the island where they'll be safe or if they want join the fight against the Immortals and Team Infinta we need as many people with us when we leave the islands and take back the regions as possible", Alec said and Ash nodded at him.

"Sounds like a plan, okay who's coming with me then?" Ash asked.

"Well I know Misty would rather be in your group so how about her, me and um...", Alec replied pausing as he looked around at the remaining members of their group, "And May which then leaves Max, Tracey and Dawn to join Brock sound good", everyone nodded their heads in agreement and Ash went to order the ramp to be lowered when Alec cried out, "Ash you've haven't got your backpack."

"No I was going to leave it here on the carrier", Ash replied.

"Ash you never know when you might need something from it, you better go and grab it just encase", Alec countered and Ash gave a slow nod letting go of Misty's hand moving back out the storage area and through the carrier till he reached his room again. Ash grabbed his backpack sliding it on to his shoulders.

Ash can't help, but start to worry slightly now. There isn't much of importance in his backpack, the only really thing thay would be any help maybe is the vial water from the lake. Is that what Alec is trying to say? That someone is going to get hurt today and the water is going to be needed, but who. If Alec has seen it then it and Ash is there it must mean it has to be one of the four in his group, well unless it happens after they re-join up again and then it could be any of his friends.

Ash reached the storage area again and called up to the bridge for them to lower the ramp sliding his hand back into Misty's and following the rest of his friends down the ramp and inland towards the town.

Both groups stayed together till they reached the town, while Brock's group headed left to begin at the first set of buildings Ash led his group towards the other end of the town. Ash stopped his group at the pokemon center as he spotted a closed until further notice sign on the door. "Um seems Joy and Anne have shut the center, I wonder where they've gone", Ash said looking at the rest of his party.

"Maybe they've gone up to see Tom, him and Anne are old friends", May replied.

"Yeah maybe, wherever they are I hope they're okay, right lets keep going we've got a bit of a walk ahead of us", Ash said.

"Maybe not Ash, we are pushed for time so how about we fly there instead. You've got your Charizard which can carry you and Misty and before I met up with you at the tournament I changed my party around a bit compared to what it was back at the Kalos region. I've brought my Flygon which me and May can ride", Alec countered and Ash nodded.

"Yeah okay I didn't realise you had a Flygon on your team else I would of suggested flying as well. Charizard out you come buddy", Ash replied pressing Charizard's ball watching as his pokemon appeared in front of him quickly joined by Alec's Flygon. Ash climbed onto Charizard's back holding his hand out to Misty who took it climbing onto Charizard as well wrapping her arms round Ash's waist. Ash turned watching as May slid onto Flygon behind Alec holding onto his waist as well. "I'll lead shall I?" Ash asked and Alec nodded. Both pokemon kicked off the floor and soon they were soaring through the sky heading towards the estate.

Ash could see that Tom was expecting trouble as soon as the estate came into view, positioned a few feet from the bridge is every single on of his pokemon standing guard. Ash could see they had spotted them and made the decision not fly Misty and the others over the bridge until he was sure the pokemon knew they meant no harm. "Misty we aren't going to be able to land in the estate, those pokemon are on guard I don't want to startle them, Misty I need you to trust me", Ash explained.

"Yeah I think you're right, whatever you're about to do I trust you one hundred percent", Misty replied and Ash smiled

"Charizard land on this side of the bridge", Ash said and his pokemon nodded gliding down landing close to the bridge.

"Why did we land on this side of the bridge, May told me that the bridge is very fragile", Alec asked as Flygon landed next to Charizard.

"It is, but I need to show Tom's pokemon we mean no harm.. I need to cross the bridge and then when it's safe you three fly over", Ash replied. Misty let go off Ash's waist and he slid off watching as she moved up Charizard holding onto his neck.

Ash placed his hands on either side of the bridge slowly taking his first step to check that it would hold before taking another step and another step. As Ash reached the part of the bridge that Max fell from the last time Ash was in the Miracle regions. He couldn't help but think about not just how lucky they were that day, but how much has changed since that day. It started off as a journey to save Misty and now they're fighting a war that covers the whole world. Ash took a large step so he missed the hole in the bridge continuing till he reached the end of the bridge.

Tom's pokemon took a step closer to him and he held his hands up before speaking, "I mean no harm to you or your trainer. My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm not sure if any of you will remember me, but I can here nearly two months ago to collect something from you trainer. Me and my friends", Ash explained motioning to Misty and the others across the bridge "Have come to answer the call your trainer put out", Ash finished.

"Let him pass guys, he's a friend", a voice said and Ash watched as Tom stepped around the wall and into view, "Ash it's good to see you again, tell your friends to come across and then we can head inside the estate and talk", Tom continued and Ash nodded waving his hands back and forth to signal the others that it's safe to come over. Ash watched as both pokemon jumped up into the air gliding over the bridge and over Ash and Tom heads landing in the estate gardens.

Ash and Tom moved into the estate leaving Tom's pokemon still on guard duty, "Are you expecting trouble?" Ash asked.

"Well yesterday after I put the call out to the resistance a group of men turned up asking if we would turn over every signal Roborante leaf that I have here. I refused and they got a bit forceful trying to change my mind, but me and my pokemon managed to get them to flee. As they were leaving they shouted that they would be back with more reinforcements next time", Tom explained.

"You said we, who else is here?" Ash asked as they joined up with Misty and the others.

"Well I don't know if you passed the pokemon center, but it's closed up and it has been for a few days since these men first turned up on the island asking questions and trying to get as many people to join their organisation Team Infinta. Anne phoned me to tell me they be coming my way and I could tell she was scared so I asked her and Joy to grab as much as they could and sent my Dragonite to pick them up and bring them here", Tom replied.

"I did wonder if they had come here, I'm glad they did and that they're safe", Ash replied calling back his Charizard at the same time.

"Let's go inside and find Anne and Joy we can have a cup of tea while I explain why I called you here", Tom suggested and Ash nodded taking Misty's hand in his following Tom down the path with May and Alec following behind them up the steps and into the house closing the door behind them.

They found Anne and Joy packing away things in the living room and they both looked up as they entered, "Ash you came, it's so good to see you again, oh and May with you as well. And we know you by your wanted poster Misty it's nice to finally meet you in person", Joy said and Ash nodded.

"Nice to meet you both", Misty said and both Anne and Joy smiled at her.

"Same to you dear", Anne replied.

"And I would like you both to meet our friend Alec as well", Ash said motioning to Alec stood next to May.

"Nice to meet you as well young man, has Tom explained why he called you here yet?" Anne replied and Ash shook his head at her question.

"Let's all sit down and I'll tell you everything", Tom suggested and everyone nodded sliding down in the seat around the room. "So as I told you outside Ash, we had a visit from Team Infinta and they wanted the leaves that we grow here. We can keep saying no, but they'll keep coming back and even if we got rid of every single leaf we wouldn't be safe here as they just take their anger out on us. Me and the ladies have therefore decided that we can't stay here anymore. Even though pains me to have to leave this place, because I have so many wonderful memories of my wife here I know it's the only way. Ash we were just going to try and make it to the town and find a ship off the island to anywhere, but now that you're here I was wondering is there any chance that we could come with you back to the resistance base. I know it must be a hive of activity there, but we wouldn't get in the way and we could give something in return the Roborante leaves and Joy could use her expertise to create medicines for the resistance pokemon and for the people that make up the resistance itself", Tom explained.

"Tom of course you can come back to the resistance base, our main focus is to keep everyone safe in the world and we don't turn anyone away who asks for help. Although we don't ask for anything in return usually, me and Misty have been sent here to ask for a supply of the leaves so maybe this arrangement can work in both our favour. I know this is probably a bit rushed, but could you be ready to leave within a few hours? We've still got to visit the other islands as well", Ash answered.

"Yeah we could be ready in a few hours with a little help from you, May, Misty and Alec", Tom answered and Ash nodded.

"Well lets get down to business then, what would you like me to...", Ash started stopping as his watch started to beep on his wrist and Brock's name flashed up on the screen. Ash pressed the button it answering the call watching as a hologram of Brock came out of the watch, "Hello Brock, what's up?"

"Ash I called to warn you, Max was just talking to a family who live in the town and they told him that saw a group of about ten men march through the town about twenty minutes before we arrived in the town ourselves and I think they're heading your way", Brock explained.

"Thanks mate for the heads up ,we'll be ready for when they arrive, how's it going on your end?" Ash replied.

"Good thanks Ash, we've calmed a good few families down and we have managed to find about ten people who want to join the resistance so we've told them to pack up as much as they need and to head to the beach to be ready to leave in about an hour. How is Tom?", Brock continued.

"That's great Brock, Tom is great. Nurse Joy and Anne are here as well and they're both doing fine as well. Brock once you've got everyone on board I need you to get the pilot to fly up to the estate and land as close as he can, Tom and the ladies are going to come back to the island with us so we need to try and get as much of their stuff on the carrier as possible", Ash explained.

"Will do Ash, alright better get back to helping the others, Ash look after yourself and we'll see you soon", Brock answered.

"Same to you Brock", Ash replied ending the call. "Alright so we've got incoming so we've not got a lot of time, I'm going to head outside wait for Team Infinta to arrive..", Ash continued.

"I'll come to, if both of us are out there we can send Tom's pokemon back inside to help take our places in packing up as much of the house as possible that Beartic could lift most of the heavy stuff for Tom and the girls. If May and Misty stay in here and help pack as well, we should be ready to leave when Brock arrives with the others and the carrier", Alec interrupted and Ash looked at Alec thinking back to all the little things that have been niggling away at him since he met Misty this morning. The need to come, the comment on the backpack, choosing of the groups and now taking control of the group even though Ash is supposed to be the leader. There's something Alec isn't telling Ash and he's going to get to the bottom of it one way or the other.

"Okay sounds good, alright lets go", Ash replied looking at Alec who nodded at him. Ash turned to Misty and lightly kissed her on the lips before following Alec back through the house and out the door into the gardens.

Ash asked all of Tom's pokemon to head back inside to help with the packing before calling out all his pokemon from their pokeballs. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder joining his fellow pokemon. Alec's pokemon appeared next to Ash's a few seconds later all looking towards the bridge waiting for their incoming enemies.

"Alec I hope you don't mind me asking you this, but me and Misty have both been a little bit worried you're keeping something from us. Alec what aren't you telling me?" Ash asked.

"Incoming", Alec cried and Ash moved his gaze to the other side of the bridge. The members of Team Infinta stepped into view calling out their pokemon as soon as they spotted Ash and Alec waiting for them on their side. The members of Team Infinta ordered all their pokemon to attack and each of them moved towards them by either gliding across the gap between the two sides or jumping and running across the bridge knocking parts of the bridge away from the rope and down into the river below as they came.

Ash and Alec waited for the pokemon to reach their side before countering with their own pokemon. Ash went first calling out to his pokemon, "Pikachu thunderbolt, Lucario aura sphere, Wartortle hydro pump, Sceptile leaf blade, Pidgeot hurricane, Charizard flamethrower", Ash heard Alec calling out attacks beside him as well as each of their pokemon launched their attacks at the incoming pokemon. Most of the attacks made contact forcing the pokemon that had been hit to retreat slightly. Ash and Alec turned their attention to the remaining pokemon getting their pokemon to dodge the attacks that had been sent at them by Team Infinta's pokemon before using their own attacks back pushing them back as well.

Ash could see that the members of Team Infinta were chatting quickly to each other and there was a lot of nodding going on. The members of Team Infinta started to issue new commands to their pokemon and they all turned towards Ash and Alec firing attacks in quick succession merging together into one attack flashing multiple colours as it sped towards them.

"Everyone get close to me now", Ash called and Alec and both sets of pokemon jumped towards Ash. Ash felt Lucario's paw come into contact with Ash's arm and Lucario start to stream some of his own aura into Ash to help. "Alec what aren't you telling me?" Ash asked again summoning a shield of aura to block all the attacks and protect them all.

"Now's not the time Ash, come on once the attack ends we need to strike back while they're recovering. The longer this battle continues the more it goes in their favour, they out number us five to one at the moment", Alec replied and Ash slowly nodded. Alec is right the odds are on Team Infinta's side at the moment, but he isn't going to let this go something is coming that Alec is telling him about.

The attack finished and Ash let the shield fall turning to his pokemon, "All of your fire your strongest attacks now we need to take out some of the pokemon", Ash called and he heard Alec say the same to his pokemon beside him. Ash pokemon nodded at him firing off attacks. Between Ash's and Alec's pokemon they managed to take out eight pokemon, but they're still outnumbered by quite a bit.

Ash and Alec continued the battle against the members of Team Infinta for another hour changing between defence and attack slowly moving further and further left away from the bridge. They managed to take out another five pokemon before they lost their first pokemon, Alec's Flygon was knocked out by a strong ice beam that came out of no where. Ash's Pidgeot and Wartortle soon joined Flygon as they were knocked out by the same pokemon as it fired a massive thunderbolt at them both. Ash and Lucario had the last laugh those as Lucario knocked it out as well as two other pokemon with it's aura blast attack. The attack took a lot out of Lucario so he fell back for a bit until he felt ready to fight again. By the time the hour mark had arrived Ash and Alec were left with Charizard, Sceptile, Pikachu, Lucario, Alec Alakazam and Alec's Bisharp against twenty of Team Infinta's pokemon.

Ash and Lucario merged their power together to form another shield and Ash turned to look at Alec and noticed he looking between his own watch and Ash's. "Alec what aren't you telling me?" What have you seen?" Ash asked.

"It's time, Ash answer the call", Alec replied and Ash's watch started to beep as soon as he did. Ash pressed the accept button and Brock appeared out of it once again.

"Ash you've got to get out of there, Ash...", Brock said talking really quickly and whatever he was about to say was blocked out by the huge roar. Ash recognised it immediately. Ash didn't need to look to the direction the roar came from to realise it was Umbra. "Ash did you hear me Umbra is here", Brock said and Ash nodded.

"I know I can see him, Brock get everyone to carrier and get here as quick as you can, we might need to do a fast getaway", Ash replied and Brock nodded ending the call. "Alec you knew he was coming, why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't Ash, not this time", Alec replied not looking at Ash keeping his focus on Umbra gliding towards them.

"Why not Alec, you told me Tempest would be in Hoenn and that Fissura would be at the tournament. So why couldn't you tell me about Umbra here and now?", Ash replied.

"Because you would want to change things and I'm sorry but this is the only way that things go right. The good out weighs the bad today. Ash get ready here they come", Alec replied and Ash watched as Umbra stopped above the members of Team Infinta.

Ash watched as a woman he hoped he never have to see again jumped down from Umbra's back moving to the front of the crowd looking at them giving Ash a smile before shouting across to them, "Ash it's good to see you again, is your lovely girlfriend here as well?"

"Bellatrix it's good to see you to, see you brought your little friend with you again", Ash shouted back letting the shield drop now that it seems no more attacks are going to be fired. Since Bellatrix's arrival none of the members of Team Infinta have said or done anything.

"Well you know after the great job he did in Pallet yesterday how could I not bring him, did you see the great job he did? Wasn't expecting to see you here today, but hey it's an added bonus I can kill two birds with one stone. Get the leaves from the old man and capture you, my boss will be very happy to have you in his control he wasn't very happy when I lost you all those weeks ago. Your girlfriend will pay for that as well, once I've captured you I'll turn my attention to her" Bellatrix shouted back.

"You won't ever lay a finger on her Bellatrix, let's stop this rubbish and get down to business", Ash shouted back summoning a ball of aura to each of his hands throwing them up at Umbra. Both hit and Umbra dropped a few feet closer to the ground.

"Umbra attack", Bellatrix shouted and Ash and Lucario merged their power forming a dome around them finishing just as the attack hit it. The shield held for the whole of Umbra's attack and as soon as it finished Ash went of the attack with his four remaining pokemon. The four attacks and Ash aura merged together as they reached Umbra knocking him out the sky and to the floor behind the members of Team Infinta. Ash placed his hands on his knees taking in a string on quick breathes trying to fight the tiredness he's starting to feel all over his body.

"Seems that my fellow leaders were right you have become stronger since the last time we saw each other, that will just make my victory even sweeter", Bellatrix shouted as Umbra jumped back into the sky readying another attack.

"Ash we need to get into the gardens before the next attacks the shield won't work this time", Alec quickly explained and Ash looked at Umbra and then Alec before nodding running with Alec and their pokemon past the bridge and into the gardens. Ash felt the gorund shake beneath his feet a few seconds a later a huge splash. "Ash that was part of the cliff giving way beneath were we were stood. Even if it hadn't hit the ground and instead you formed a new dome the vibrations coming off the dome of aura would of caused it to give way as well. Ash we need to go on the offensive the end is near", Alec explained obviously understanding that Ash was about to ask what just happened.

"Are you sure, I'm getting very fatigued I don't know how much I've got left in me", Ash replied.

"Yeah trust me, Ash leave you bag here in the garden the next bit going to get a bit rough", Alec said and Ash nodded letting the backpack slide off his back and onto the floor it's fall cushioned by a group of flowers. Ash took one last deep breath before running with Alec and their remaining pokemon out of the garden.

While Ash and Alec had retreated to the gardens Bellatrix and a few members of Team Infinta had taken that time to cross the bridge. Umbra had also glided over the gap and has now got it's focus turned to the estate. Ash summoned a huge ball of aura and chucked it right at Umbra. It was quickly followed by attacks from all of his and Alec's pokemon pushing it back across the bridge again.. Ash summoned a huge ball of aura and chucked it right at Umbra. It was quickly followed by attacks from all of his and Alec's pokemon pushing it back across the bridge again.

"Ash give it up, you look exhausted, how much longer can you keep going?" Bellatrix asked letting out a huge laugh.

"As long as I need to", Ash replied taking in another deep breath.

"Umbra lets end this, attack", Bellatrix cried and Ash merged his powers with Lucario forming another dome around themselves, Alec and the other pokemon. Umbra's attack hit the shield and Ash could feel the ground shaking beneath him, but he kept the shield going not willing to give in. Umbra's attack continued and the first cracks started to quickly appear in the shield, but Ash forced some more aura into the dome healing the cracks. Ash felt Lucario's contribution slowly fade until he was on his own. Lucario slumped to the floor exhausted.

"Alec I can't hold it much longer", Ash whispered and Alec nodded at him.

"I know Ash, what happens next isn't you fault know that. Everything and everyone has it's time. Ash just remember one thing, control the anger, don't let it control you", Alec replied giving Ash a smile which Ash returned.

The cracks in the dome got bigger and bigger until they reached the center meeting each other. The dome shattered and Ash watched as Alec dove to the right as the attack hit the ground in front of them and Ash and his pokemon were thrown back. Ash summoned a small amount of aura chucking it behind him to cushion his crash and it worked it didn't hurt as much as he hit the wall. Ash put his hands out to stop himself falling flat on his face and he landed on his knees, but they didn't hold they buckled underneath him and he ended up flat on his face.

"Ash is everything okay?" Ash heard May call and he lifted his head spotting her coming out the garden.

"Oh look another friend to play with, Umbra give her a nice hello won't you, we don't her or the others just Ash", Bellatrix shouted and Ash tried to push himself up off the floor to stop Umbra, but he couldn't summon enough energy to lift himself off the floor completely he only got to knees before Umbra fired his attack.

"May look out", Ash heard Alec cry and he watched as Alec reached May pushing out the way. Umbra's attacks passed straight through Alec's body and Ash heard him let out a scream of pain as he dropped to the floor his hands moving to the hole in his chest.

"No...Alec", Ash felt the anger rising just like it had yesterday, but Alec's words came back to him, control the anger. Ash pushed the anger down and he felt it start to revitalise his body. Ash jumped up throwing aura outwardsmin a massive wave knocking Bellatrix and the other members of Team Infinta that had crossed the bridge off this feet. Bellatrix was only dazed, but the other members were knocked out cold. Ash's blast knocked Umbra back across the gap and the blast continued ripping the bridge apart part by part till it was no more crashing into the remaining members of Team Infinta knocking them out cold.

Ash called all his pokemon back to their pokeballs picking up Pikachu as he rushed over to Alec. Ash placed Pikachu next to Alec, before pulling Alec into his arms looking down at his friend, Alec's eyes looked into Ash's, "Alec hold on I can save you, I just need to grab the vial of water from my bag", Ash whispered, but Alec shook his head.

"No it's to late for me, but it's not for May, she needs the water", Alec replied fighting to speak. Ash looked over at May a few feet from them spotting the burn mark running across her side. Alec pushed her out of the way, but she must of still got hit slightly and he didn't her scream because Alec's had been so much louder.

"Ash!", Ash looked up spotting Misty sprinting towards them out of the house moving his gaze back to Alec and then May and then back to Misty making his decision. Umbra's attack had hit Alec just below his heart. It must of done serious damage more than can be cured.

"Misty my backpack, you need to give May the vial of water", Ash shouted to her and she nodded looking for Ash's bag spotting it in the flower grabbing it continuing to run dropping down beside May rolling her over which made May let out a scream of pain. Ash watched as Misty grabbed the vial of water from his bag pulling the stopper out dripping the water into May's mouth. May out let out a cry of relief and Ash turned his attention back to Alec. "Alec thank you for saving May", Ash whispered and Alec gave him a small smile.

"May still has a part to play in the war, you're going to need her. Ash I've not got much time left so listen. This isn't your fault. Everyone has their time and this is mine, back on the carrier in my room is a letter for you. I need you to read it as soon as you can, it tells you a lot of things I never found the time to tell you. I won't be with you anymore, but I hope the things I've seen can help you win this war. Ash save this world and bring peace back, but more than that have a good life", Alec said and Ash watched as Alec took his last breath as his eyes closed and his chest didn't rise again.

Alec is gone, Ash has lost his first friend is this war and what worries Ash is that he won't be the last.


	25. Return To The Miracle Islands- Part 2

"Ash is he gone?" Misty asked and Ash looked over at her giving her a small nod. "What happened?" Misty continued.

"May came running out to check on me and Alec and I just been smashed against the wall and was lying on the floor unable to move. Bellatrix spotted her and told Umbra to attack her as she wasn't needed only I was. Alec ran towards her and pushed her out the way of the attack taking it instead. Umbra's attack went straight through him and must have caught May across the side as well. I failed him Misty, I should of been able to save him", Ash answered.

"Ash I know you would have done everything you could to save them both. Ash you're an amazing person, but you can't save everyone. Alec must have known in saving May he would most likely die instead, but he still did it. Ash, Alec died a hero and we have to keep fighting and remembering his sacrifice", Misty replied and Ash nodded at her.

"Misty how is May?" Ash asked.

"Out for the count for the moment, but that's probably a good thing her burn still looks very red and is giving off a lot of heat. The water seems to have had great effect in healing her, but I don't know if we need Joy to check her over and give her something else for the burn", Misty explained.

Ash heard three sets of footsteps and he turned slightly spotting Tom, Joy and Anne running towards them stopping in front of them, "Oh my god, he's gone isn't he?" Anne asked looking at Alec and Ash nodded.

"Joy I need you to check May over for me, she caught a glancing shot from the same attack that killed Alec. I gave some water from the lake of life that is located on Life Island, but Misty said the burn still looks quite bad and is giving off great heat", Ash explained and Joy nodded.

"Will do Ash, how are you and your pokemon doing Ash?" Joy replied.

"I'm slightly tired, but a few hours rest and I'll be back to normal as for my pokemon they're all exhausted", Ash replied.

"Come on inside and we'll give them something to return them to prefect shape. We can place your friend in one of the rooms upstairs till you decide what you want to do with him", Anne replied, but Ash shook his head.

"I need to finish what me and Alec started, there's members of Team Infinta outside the wall and after everything that's happened today we're taking some of them back with us. Tom do you have any rope inside the house?" Ash explained and Tom nodded at the comment about the rope. "Could you grab it for me? I've got some rope, but I need more to tie up everyone who we managed to capture", Ash continued and Tom nodded.

"Ash I'll help you, give Anne Pikachu and your pokeballs and then we can head outside. How are we going to get Alec and May inside though. No offence to you Tom, but they're both probably to heavy for you to carry in", Misty said and everyone nodded at her.

"No offence taken, um maybe I could get my Dragonite and Beartic to come out and help carry them in…" Tom started, but stopped as both May and Alec started to levitate off the floor. Alakazam stepped into Ash's view and realised it must be him doing it, Alakazam started to move towards the house and May and Alec levitated beside him. "Well there we go problem solved, I'll go get the rope and bring it out for you", Tom said moving off after Alakazam.

Anne picked Pikachu up off the floor where Ash had left him and Ash pushed himself off the floor pulling all his pokeballs off his belt placing them on Pikachu's chest watching as Anne and Joy moved after Tom and Alakazam.

"Come on Ash we better tie up the members of Team Infinta who are still here ", Misty suggested pulling the rope out of Ash's bag and Ash nodded following Misty over to the group of passed out members of Team Infinta. The members of the Team Infinta that had stayed on the other side of the bridge seem to have come around and ran away probably realising that the battle was lost, the ones on Ash side of the bridge hadn't been so lucky.

Everyone except Bellatrix was in the same place Ash had left them, Ash looked around spotting Bellatrix sat by the edge of the cliff looking into the distance and Ash followed her gaze spotting Umbra gliding away from them and over the town. Ash left Misty to begin tying up the members of Team Infinta as he walked over to Bellatrix. "Looks like he's left you", Ash said and Bellatrix turned to face him.

"Yeah it does, suppose it's not surprising I failed once again to beat you. Your last attack not only took most of my force, but it destroyed the headset I used to control Umbra. After you little trick in Hoenn to get control of the headset we had to add some new modifications into it. The headsets are no user sensitive they only work if they sense the DNA of me or one of the other heads of Team Infinta. If the connection is lost such as when you destroyed the headset today then the people at our main base in the Grandis region are alerted and they take control of the Immortal and bring him back to the region", Bellatrix explained and at first Ash was quite surprised to fins her telling him all this, but as he continued to look at her he started to realise she was beaten. She's accepted that Ash has bested her and she doesn't care about anything anymore. She believed that the Immortals and Team Infinta would control the world easily, but Ash and the resistance have beaten them pretty everyday since they took control of the regions.

"Why didn't you use any of your pokemon to escape? I never saw you call out any of your pokemon once you arrived you just used Umbra", Ash asked.

"Don't have any of my own pokemon at the moment. The day Umbra woke up and I failed to capture you I was given a choice by my boss give up my pokemon and taken off any future missions for the foreseeable future or leave the organisation and never return. I chose the first option, today mission was my chance to prove myself again, but you have to best me against didn't you. I might as well let you take me prisoner because I have no future at Team Infinta anymore", Bellatrix replied and Ash couldn't help, but feel a little bit sorry for her. The memory of Alec's death came back to Ash and he didn't feel sorry for her anymore. She killed his friend and no matter what sob story she tells she must face punishment of that. Ash grabbed Bellatrix pulling her up off the ground.

"Hands behind your back", Ash ordered and Bellatrix nodded placing her hands behind her back. Ash placed his hand on them summoning some aura calling upon Master Crane's memories to manipulate it into a set of cuffs to hold her arms behind her back. Ash marched her back over to Misty and Tom who seemed to have turned up while he was talking to Bellatrix who were tying up the last two members of Team Infinta. They all seem to be coming round slowly and are now realising that they've been captured and we starting to struggle, but stopped as soon as they spotted Bellatrix.

"We may have lost today, but Team Infinta will win this war. We may be your prisoners today, but when the war ends we will be freed again mark my words", one of the members shouted Ash Misty helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah whatever", Ash replied and Misty and Tom gave him a small smile.

"Ash we can place them in the cellar until we're ready to go", Tom said and Ash nodded.

"Brock and the others should be here soon anyway it won't be for long", Ash replied and Tom nodded.

Ash helped Misty and Tom lift the last of the members of Team Infinta to their feet before trying them all together so no one could escape. Misty took the lead with Tom grabbing hold of the first prisoner guiding them away from the cliff and into the garden. Ash brought up the rear with Bellatrix in front of him where he can keep an eye on her at all times.

Just as they reached the entrance to house Ash heard the sounds of engines and he turned watching as the carrier became visible above them flying over the house starting to descend into the back garden. Ash, Tom and Misty quickly placed the prisoners into the cellar running through the house and into the back garden joining Joy, Anne and a healthier looking May.

May turned to look at both Ash and Misty giving them both big smiles. Ash noticed for the first time May seems to have changed clothes and was about to mention it when May spoke. "Alec told me I need another set of clothes seemed he was right, my first set got a bit burnt on the side. Ash you think he knew what would happen?"

"Yeah I do May; he had been strange all day. It must have been horrible knowing what was coming and not being able to do anything about it. May I'm glad you're okay though, I don't know what I do if I lost you, you're one of my best friends. How are you feeling? Is the burn better?" Ash replied.

"Not bad Ash, Joy gave me something to drink and rubbed this gunk into my burn and it feels a lot better now. I'm a bit shaky but that's to be expected isn't it? Ash can you do something for me?" May answered.

"Yeah it is. I still remember the feeling of Umbra's claws slicing through my back to this day. May what did you want me to do?"

"Promise me we won't come back here again, this isn't a great place for my family to come it seems. First Max falling from the bridge and now my attack by Umbra", May replied and Ash nodded giving her a smile.

"Yeah sounds like a good idea, I'm just glad we didn't bring your parents who know what would of happened to them else ", Ash replied and May let out a small laugh.

"Yeah who knows, ah the ramp is lowering", May replied turning back to look at the carrier just as the ramp lowered and Brock and the others ran down towards them. May ran forward grabbing hold of Max giving him a massive hug.

"May what's that for?" Ash heard Max ask.

"Just because I can little bro", May replied and Ash heard her voice shake slightly. May is a lot more shaken up than she's letting on.

Ash moved forward motioning for Brock to head left to join him. Ash felt Misty's hand slide into his and they moved off together meeting Brock a few metres away from the others. Ash looked back watching Dawn and Tracey moved with May and Max over to Anne, Tom and Joy.

"Ash what happened?, we saw Umbra leaving the islands as we took off from the beach and I saw that the bridge is completely gone as we flew across the gap between the two sides" , Brock asked.

"I managed to repel him and at the same time take the bridge out of action so no more members of Team Infinta could cross, but it came at a price", Ash replied.

"What price?" Brock asked looking around the garden stopping at May and the others all stood together. "Ash where is Alec?" Brock added returning his attention back to Ash.

"He's gone Brock, Umbra fired an attack at May, and I wouldn't have been able to reach her in time. Alec reached her just as the attack would have hit her, he pushed her out the way, but he couldn't get out of the way himself there wasn't enough time. The attack passed right through his chest and burning May across her side as it passed by her as well. There was no way to save him and her both, he told me to give her the vial of water I've been carrying since our last visit to these islands. He gave his life to save May's, he died a hero and I'll make sure that he didn't die in vain", Ash replied.

"Oh Ash I'm so sorry mate, I didn't get much chance to talk to him, but he seemed like a decent guy he'll be missed", Brock said placing his hand on Ash's shoulder.

"How did your mission go down in the town?" Ash asked eager to change the subject he's not yet ready to face the anguish he's feeling about losing a member of his team.

"Good we managed to get everyone who wanted to join the resistance on the carrier they're waiting on the carrier for us to set off again", Brock replied.

"That's great we should be ready to leave soon as well, Tom's packed up most of items he needs to take with him. We've also got a group of prisoners to take with us including Bellatrix one of the heads of Team Infinta, we need to find somewhere to place them while we visit the other islands", Ash said and Brock nodded.

"Well I suppose some good came out of your mission, but it greatly out weighed by Alec's dead. Ash lets go join the others, I think we just need to get out of here as soon as we can we've still got loads to do on the other islands", Brock replied and Ash nodded turning to Misty who gave him a small smile before they moved with Brock over to their friends.

With help Brock, Max, Tracey, Dawn and some of the people they brought from down in the town they managed to pack up everything that Tom couldn't leave behind and place it all securely in the storage area of the carrier. While Ash and the others were doing that the pilot of the carrier had managed to clear a small storage room that they could use to place Bellatrix and the others members of Team Infinta in until they got back to the island. Ash and Misty checked them over for any devices that could be used to escape or give away their positions before loading them onto the carrier locking them in the storage room.

Brock and Ash had worked together to carry Alec's body from the house onto the carrier. They agreed that they would place his body in the cabin he been using since they left the island and lock the door so no one could get in there. Ash spotted the letter Alec had mentioned to him before he died as soon as he entered and once they placed Alec into the bed covering him over with a blanket Ash moved over to the letter slipping it into his pocket. Ash knew that Brock had seen it, but Brock didn't ask any questions about it he just followed Ash out of the room.

Ash retreated to his and Misty's room as soon as they were ready to leave. He sat down on the bed watching Pikachu jump off his shoulder moving to curl up across the room on a chair closing his eyes. Ash pulled out the letter staring at his name on the front of the letter not sure whether he should open it or not. He knows there a lot of important information in there, but he's still in shock about Alec's death, Alec knew it was coming and yet he still came.

Ash must of been staring at the letter for ages thinking about Alec because in no time at all, Misty walked into the room to say they reached the next island and asked if Ash was coming in land to help talk to the town. Ash looked between her and the letter before taking a deep breath shaking his head turning the letter over making a tear in one corner of the envelope. "No Misty I'm going to stay on the carrier and read Alec's letter I think."

"No worries babe, I'll leave you to it. Everyone who's not coming into town is up on the bridge so you'll have quiet", Misty replied, but Ash could see she wanted to say more. Misty looked towards the door then Ash before moving over to the bed sitting down next to Ash taking his hand in hers. "Ash everyone's worried about you, you've been sat in this room all alone since we left Heala Island, but even before that you weren't yourself. Ash, Alec's death wasn't your fault, you know that right?"

"Yeah I know Misty, but it still hurts to know I was powerless to do anything. Misty I watched that attack pass right through him, I held him in my arms as he died. Misty two months ago I was a trainer looking forward to winning the Kalos league, now I'm fighting a war that covers the whole world. Misty I'm scared that this war is going to take away everything I hold dear to me, I only knew Alec for a little while, but I did count him as a friend. Misty I nearly lost May today because of this war, I just worry that I'll end this war and look around and find myself alone because in fighting this war I'm putting you all in danger. Misty I love you and I can't lose you because if I did my life wouldn't have meaning anymore", Ash replied tears starting to slide down his face.

"Ash I'm not going anywhere, when this war ends we'll still be together and we'll still have all our friends around us. Ash we all know the risks in fighting this war, but it's the right thing to do. This world deserves to be free and by the end of this war it will be. Alec died believing you could end this war so let's not let him down. Ash I believe in you and I know every single person on this carrier down as well, no more than that every person who is in the resistance or calls for help from the resistance believes in you, so now you just need to believe in yourself", Misty replied and Ash nodded at her.

"I love you so much Misty", Ash whispered.

"I love you to Ash, now I better go and join the others again. Ash we'll talk more when I get back", Misty replied and Ash nodded letting Misty slid her hand out of his before getting off the bed moving out the room leaving Ash alone again.

Ash slid his finger into the hole he made by tearing the envelope sliding it across tearing the rest of the envelope. Ash slid the letter out before unfolding it and starting to read.

Dear Ash,

If you're reading this letter then my vision has come true and I'm no longer with you and the others. Ash I know you must have so many questions and I'll try and answer all of them in this letter.

Ash I had a vision of my death yesterday just after Pallet was destroyed and I'll admit it scared me, but I know that I just one small part in a much larger world. Since I've accepted that I'm going to die I've had a rush of visions coming to me, some of them I can understand and some of them come so quickly I can't see and remember everything that happens, but I'll try and tell you as much as I can.

Ash today's events aren't your fault, there was nothing you could of done to save me so don't blame yourself. I'm happy that my death at least meant something. I saved May from Umbra's attack and I helped to you dig deep and find the power you needed to finish the battle today. I may have died today, but at least some good came out of today's mission. Ash you managed to help Tom, Jenny and Anne escape the island and also captured Bellatrix and some other members of Team Infinta. Ash today has been hard, but I'm sorry to say it won't get any easier in the days, weeks or even months to come. This war is going to be hard and it's going to wear you down but promise me you won't ever give up, because the end result is worth it.

Okay back to the things I need to tell you. The first one is a message I need you to give to Steven, tell him to ask Jessie and James about Delta base that's here he'll find who he's been looking for, if they head off straight away they can arrive by nightfall. Tell him also that by going there he'll find more than he's expecting and that some of the things he'll find there will help in the coming war.

This second one is to all the champions including you Ash, the plan is for the resistance to take back the prison so they can use it hold the members of Team Infinta that are captured. I've seen a vision of the best time to attack the prison, in six days time Team Infinta are going to pretty much abandon the place of guards leaving about four or five men to hold it. All you need to do is be hovering above the prison when they leave and wait for them to be a good distance away before landing and capturing the people left behind.

If you want to hold the prison successfully you're going to need to help from some strong trainer and some strong pokemon which can be found in two different locations. The trainers you seek have known to you, you brought one of them back with us from the tournament, you want the frontier brains. The remaining frontier brains are hiding out in the battle pyramid which in four days time will land in the Sinnoh region. Ash you need to get Steven to meet them and ask for their assistance.

While Steven is collecting them you need to head with Lucario to the tree of beginnings to meet up with the legendary pokemon who will put a call out to you in a few days time. While there you need accept the offer of help that they suggest. With them and the frontier brains placed at the prison working together they can hold Team Infinta and the Immortals off long enough for you to get there if needs be.

My next comment is to do with the lake of life that resides in the Miracle Islands. During your last visit you received the vial of water that you used to save May earlier, well you're going to need more and if you head there you will receive more lots more. You can't delay though because I can't explain it completely, but I saw a vision of it disappearing completely. So as soon as you get to Life Island you and Misty need to head to the lake while the others talk to the people in the town.

Before I move onto some slightly depressing matters I have one last good thing to say to you, today you managed to capture Bellatrix and after all she's done to you and your friends I'm sure that feels good, but there's yet another leader of Team Infinta that needs to pay as well. That is Iro, the guy who blew up Pallet Town and I've seen the best time to grab him. Iro will be leading a small force of people into the ruins of Pallet Town tomorrow morning; there won't be any of the Immortals with him so he'll be easy pickings. So this is another message I need you to give Steven once he finished at Delta base he needs to head to Pallet to capture Iro and all the members of Team Infinta that he has with him.

Ash I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but this war won't be without its causalities and it seems that one of these causalities will be someone close to you. Ash I've seen a vision of you standing by a grave looking down at the headstone saying that you're sorry that you broke your promise. The vision came too quickly for me to read the name on the headstone and I can't even give you options of who it was or can't be because you were on your own.

I've been battling the demons inside myself trying to decide if I should tell you last part, but I think you deserve to know. I just hope that when you find this out you won't think to poorly of me, Ash you're actions yesterday after Pallet was destroyed were all my fault. If Edward dies then that is my fault as well, because it should have never happened. The future should never be changed because it will have a ripple effect on what happens next instead. I thought I could change the future and nothing bad would happen, but I was wrong. Ash I received a glimpse into the future and because it didn't end well for me I changed things. Ash I was supposed to tell Steven about the plan to destroy Pallet, he would send a group of people including me to the town and we would get everyone who lived there out alive. Though there would a price and that price would be me. Ash I should have died yesterday, but because I was scared I allowed hundreds of lives to be lost instead. Ash I'm sorry I really am I just hope that you can find in yourself to forgive me, if you can't it's okay because I can't forgive myself either.

Ash I know I can't expect anything from you, but back on the island in my room there is another letter, this one is addressed to my family. Could you please give it to them when you head to Kalos? It's my goodbye to them, they think I've gone on another journey I just want them to know I'm not coming back and that I love them.

Ash it's been a pleasure to know you, please end this war and bring peace to this world. Goodbye Ash.

Ash read the last paragraph over and over again trying to take in the words that Alec had wrote. Alec could have saved everyone he grew up with, but he didn't. Ash doesn't know how to feel right now. He's angry, but he's also understands how scared Alec must of been. Alec isn't the one to blame for the deaths of everyone he grew up with, that blame resides with Team Infinta. No one should have died in Pallet and they wouldn't of if it hadn't been for Team Infinta.

Alec died today saving May and that is what Ash is going to remember him for, everyone has their bad points including Ash he won't hold this against Alec what's the point nothing can change anything anymore. It must have been a burden to be able to see the future always worrying that sooner or later you would see your own death. Alec's secret will stay with Ash; no one else needs to know Ash thought to himself as he ripped the letter into strips. Ash grabbed his backpack unzipping it before sliding the strips paper into it zipping it up again.

Alec's letter has told him a lot of things, some of the good some of them bad. Some of them he understands some of them he doesn't. Who is Steven looking for? He's never mentioned anything to Ash. What worries Ash most is the bit about the gravestone and him saying that he's failed whoever's grave it is. Ash loves all his friends and he can't even think about losing any of them.

Ash was snapped out of his thoughts as his watch started to beep; Ash pressed the answer button not even bothering to check who was on the other end. A hologram of Steven appeared out the watch and it smiled at Ash, "Hi Ash", Steven's voice said out the watch.

"Hi Steven what's up?" Ash replied.

"Not much, just called to check how things are going on your end and keep you up to date with what's going on back here. We've just sent out another team to collect people from another location this morning and it was a massive success ", Steven answered.

"That's good news then. Okay on my end we've just landed on the second island and Misty and the others have headed into town. We managed to save Tom, Anne and Joy from Terra Estate and we've got loads of leaves to bring back to the island as well on the first island", Ash explained.

"Well that's good, how come you've not gone into town with them?" Steven asked.

"Steven our mission on the first island didn't go exactly to plan. When we arrived Tom told us that Team Infinta were about to return so me and Alec went out to keep them busy while Misty and May helped Tom and the ladies pack up everything they needed to take with us. We were doing fine until Umbra turned up and changed the tide of the battle. They were getting annoyed that they couldn't beat us so they changed tactics when May came out to check how things were going. Umbra fired an attack at May, if it hit here it would have killed her. I was on the floor exhausted so it was up to Alec; he reached her and pushed her out the way, but at a price. Steven Alec is dead, he died a hero saving Misty", Ash answered speaking quickly to get out the details of Alec's death.

"Ash i'm so sorry, I didn't really get to talk to him for very long, but he seemed like a great guy", Steven said.

"He was and even now that he's gone he's still helping us. Steven he left me a letter to read that's why I stayed back on the carrier. Steven there was a few things in it that I need to talk to you about right away. Steven you need to talk to Jessie and James about some place called Delta Base, apparently that's where you'll find the person you've been looking for", Ash replied.

"Delta base", Steven repeated and Ash nodded at the watch. "Well i'll go find them as soon as we're finished with this call.

"Steven who are you looking for?" Ash asked.

"Well someone I met on a journey a while ago he's a powerful trainer and i think we could use him. Ash i believe you met him as well actually when you were travelling the Kalos region he's called Alain. I've been looking for him for a few weeks, but i can't seem to find any sign of him, he must of gone into hiding at this Delta base", Steven answered.

"How come you didn't mention you were looking for him to me before now?" Ash asked.

"Ash we've both been very busy in the days that have followed you coming out of your coma so i've kept our conversation mostly on important missions. How about when you get back i bring you up to date with everything that's going on so you're not out of the loop again", Steven replied.

"Sounds good, okay back to the conversation at hand, Alec's letter says if you leave as soon as you can you should reach there by nightfall and that you'll find more than you expect and that it will help in the war to come. Another message i need to give you is about one of the leaders of Team Infinta. Iro the guy who ordered Pallet to be destroyed yesterday is due to head to Pallet again tomorrow without an Immortal so it'll be a great chance to grab him. Alec said that you'll be able to do it before you return to the island. I've already managed to capture Bellatrix here at the islands so if we get Iro as well we'll have two of the leaders", Ash said.

"Ash that's great news about Bellatrix. We'll i'm not one to let a good opportunity go to waste so don't you worry about Iro he'll be in our custody by the time you get back to the island. Is there anything else in the letter that needs to be discussed now or can it wait for when we meet up back on the island again?" Steven asked.

"No that's pretty much all the pressing issues, there are a few more important points we need to discuss, but they can wait till i arrive back at the island including a plan to take back the prison and hold it without much hassle", Ash replied.

"Sounds interesting Ash i can't wait to hear the details. Right i really want to go and talk to Jessie and James to find out more about this Delta Base. Ash say hi to the others for me and i'll see you back on the island", Steven said and Ash nodded.

"Will do Steven, see you soon", Ash replied ending the conversation pushing himself off the bed. Ash can't stay cooped up in this room until the others return, he needs to make himself useful. He's going to head up to the bridge and see if there's anything he can do to help the pilot. If not he might jump on Charizard and go and join the others instead the fresh air will do him good.


	26. Return To The Miracle Islands- Part 3

"I wish I could come with you to the lake, it sounds amazing and I would love to see it", Max explained smiling at Ash and Misty.

"Me to Max, but Alec told me that just me and Misty need to go to the lake. Max I don't know why, but something tells me you're going to be needed else where today. Alec didn't say anything in his letter, but I just have a feeling", Ash replied and Max nodded.

Ash and the others have managed to visit four out the six islands in the Miracle Islands so far and gained more allies to take back to the islands including the family who are growing the Fomenta flowers. As soon as Ash and the others explained that they were in danger if they stayed they asked if they could come with them in exchange for supplying the resistance with flowers once they are fully grown. Ash and the others helped to repot all the flowers so they could be transported to the ship ready to be replanted somewhere on the island once they return. The brothers who ran the battle house that gave away the Panacea fruit also joined their cause explaining to Ash that they want to help bring peace back to the regions so they can return to what they love most having fun battles with people who come to the island. Ash was more than happy to have them join the resistance, he's seen them battle and they have a great partnership.

One thing that Ash was glad of at the time, but starting to wonder about now is the complete lack of members of Team Infinta Aura Island and Fomenta Island. When Ash mentioned it to the people on the islands they visited they explained that around the time Ash forced Umbra and the members of Team Infinta to retreat on the first island the members of Team Infinta that were on the next two islands just up and left . Ash can understand there being no one on Aura island, the seeds are already at the island with the aura guardians that fled the temple. But the flowers were still there on the island. They may not be fully grown, but in time they can still be used. Even when they reached Fructus Island and headed to the battle house they only found the two brother battling three members of Team Infinta. Where are all the other members of Team Infinta? They came here to collect the items so why after all the work they tried to put into collecting the items from Tom are they not working as hard to get the items from the other islands as well.

By the time Ash and the others had finished moving everyone from the fourth island onto the carrier the sun had set so they agreed there would be no point moving to the next island until the next morning when people will be more inclined to listen. Ash asked the pilot to find somewhere to spend the night between the two islands and he obliged finding a small island where the carrier could be unshielded and still be hidden from view if Team Infinta happened to pass by. As soon as the sun began to rise Ash and the others got up and had the pilot head towards Life Island where they've just landed and are now waiting in the storage area.

"You think Team Infinta's going to show up on the island, don't you?" Max asked and Ash nodded.

"Yeah they've been absent on the earlier islands and out of all the items that call this island range home, the water from the lake of life is probably the most amazing and valuable. They're going to want to get their hands on it, so you'll need to keep your guard up and eyes open if they do show up. If they do show up you need to contact me or Misty to tell us, we'll try and get back to help you as soon as we can", Ash answered looking around not just at Max, but the rest of his friends who are stood around him waiting in the storage ara. All of Ash's friends nodded at him giving him smiles which he returned as the ramp lowered. Ash led the group down the ramp and off the carrier moving as a group in land towards the town.

Ash and Misty stayed with the group until they reached the town, while they moved off to start to talk to the people living in the town, Ash and Misty continued heading straight through the center of the town.

"How far is the lake?" Misty asked as they exited the town.

"About an hour if we walk, but I don't think we've got time to walk there and back, so I guess Charizard out you come", Ash replied pressing one of his pokeballs on his belt calling out Charizard. "Buddy I need you to fly us a bit closer to the lake", Ash explained and Charizard nodded at his trainer. Ash climbed on first before holding his hand to Misty to help her climb aboard. Pikachu slid off Ash's shoulder placing himself in between Ash and Misty holding onto the back of Ash's jacket.

Ash tightened his grip on Charizard's neck as his pokemon jumped off the ground and into the air his wings pushing them higher and higher until the people moving around the town below looked like ants . Charizard stopped rising instead focusing on moving forward gliding through the air covering a distance in a few flaps of his wings that would of taken Misty and Ash like five minutes.

Ash kept giving Charizard slight instructions to adjust their direction until they joined the split in the path. "Which way is it?" Misty asked.

"Both paths lead to the lake, go left and you have to travel through the cave, turn right and it's more direct route to the lake, it comes out behind the shack that the guy who lives there calls home. We're going to take the direct route, Charizard that way". Ash replied pointing to the right and Charizard nodded turning to the right gliding down the path.

Ash had Charizard land just before the path reaches the lake so he and Misty could climb down. Ash and Misty both agreed that if they want their entrance to be simple they need to walk in and not just land next to the lake unannounced. Ash called back Charizard before slipping in hand in Misty's moving off together down the rest of the path.

Ash led Misty past the shack looking around deciding he should announce their presence so not to startle the guardian, "Guardian of the lake, we mean no harm to you or the pokemon who call this lake home. It's me Ash Ketchum I came here close to two months ago to collect water to use in a cure for my girlfriend Misty. I succeed in my journey and I've come back to make sure you're okay and to warn you the lake is in trouble", Ash called and he heard footsteps coming from the shack so he turned watching as not just the guardian stepped out by also Leo the guy who had guided to the lake the last time Ash was on the island.

"Hello Ash, it's good to see you again", the guardian said as he stopped in front of Ash and Misty. "And it's lovely to meet you as well young lady, I can see why Ash went to such extreme to collect the water from this lake and the other items from the islands."

"It's nice to meet you too", Misty replied.

"Ash I know why you've come and you're right the lake is in trouble from the organisation you call Team Infinta, but they won't get their hands on the lake or any of the water that comes from it. Ash I'll explain what I intend to do in a minute, first I need to finish my coversation with Leo inside. While I'm doing that why don't you and Misty fill as many vials as you can with water from the lake, Celebi told me you would need as much as you can. I've spent the last two days creating boxes to carry the vials, they're over by the lake with the vials as well", the guardian explained and Ash nodded looking over at the lake spotting the boxes he was talking about. There is about twenty boxes and they're about the size of a lunch box.

"Celebi spoke to you?" Misty asked and the guardian nodded.

"Yes for most of my time here he's been absent and even when he was here he didn't speak to me, but it all changed after you visited Ash. Celebi started to appear everyday and then about a week ago he never left and he started to speak to me explaining that the lake would soon be in danger and that something needed to be done to protect it. Ash he told me you would be coming as well and that your mission is of great importance and the water would important in making sure the mission succeeds", the guardian answered.

"Right me and Misty will let you and Leo finish your conversation while we go and collect the water I'm not sure how much time we have here to be honest, we've left our friends back in the town and I have a feeling they're about to become very busy", Ash said and the guardian nodded.

"Indeed they are, Celebi told me a large group of men are about to dock on the island in about twenty minutes and they're coming here and they're not letting anyone get in their way", the guardian replied.

"Well we better get down to business then", Misty stated and everyone nodded. Ash and Misty moved off towards the lake while the guardian and Leo moved back into the shack. Now that they're closer to the boxes Ash can see that the guardian made groves inside the box to hold the vials in place, each box seems to be able to hold twenty vials of water. Ash grabbed two vials from one the boxes slipping them into the water lifting them out again placing a plug in the top of it placing it back into the same box before taking another two vials from the box. Ash could see Misty was doing the same next to him using vials from a second box.

Ash noticed something shining above them and he looked up watching as Celebi appeared smiling down at Ash. Lucario's pokeball shook on Ash's belt and a few seconds later he appeared next to Ash looking up at Celebi as well. Celebi glided down to Lucario and they started to chat quickly to each other. Lucario nodded every so often so Celebi must be asking a question or telling him something important, but other than that Ash didn't have a clue what they might be talking about. Ash turned his attention back to the filling the vials with the water filling one box before moving to the next one and continuing the process as each box gets filled.

"Ash how's it going?", the guardian asked as he and Leo stopped behind Ash and Misty.

"Not bad we've only got three boxes left to fill", Ash answered filling another two vials.

"That's great, Leo will take over from you while I have a word with you, I need your complete attention", the guardian replied and Ash nodded placing the two vials he had just filled into the box pushing himself up off the floor allowing Leo to take his place as he moved to stand next to the guardian having a quick look at Celebi and Lucario who were still deep in conversation.

"So what's the plan?" Ash asked.

"Celebi and me talked it over for days and days trying to find the best way to protect the lake and unfortunately we could only find one sure way to keep the lake from being use for evil. Ash we need to hide the lake where no one can ever find it again", the guardian replied.

"Hide it, how?" Ash asked confused.

"Celebi has the power of time and so we need to use that power to hide the lake. This one Celebi can't hide the lake on his own so since yesterday he's been searching for more of his kind to help him and it seems he's succeed since he's returned. Ash we're going to time lock the lake so no one can enter it or exit it till the lock breaks. If someone came to this location while the time lock is active they will find nothing, but an empty crater", the guardian explained.

"You're staying at the lake with Celebi aren't you?"

"Yes, this is my place now and it always will be", the guardian answered and Ash nodded he understood what the guardian means he wants to protect the lake and the pokemon that call the lake home just like Ash wants to protect his friends and everyone who lives in the world.

"When are you going to do the time lock?" Ash asked.

"Well now that Celebi is back as soon as you finish filling the vials. What me and Celebi need you to do is head to the town and join up with your friends so that you can work together to hold off Team Infinta until the process is complete. You'll know when it's complete when you feel a large vibration and a huge flash of light coming from this location", the guardian replied and Ash nodded.

"How long will the time lock last?" Ash asked.

"About five years, Celebi isn't quite sure to be honest. Apparently a time lock is quite difficult to control so he's trying to make it five years, but it could last a little longer or even a little shorter who knows" the guardian replied.

"Well let's hope it last long enough for me to defeat the Immortals and Team Infinta", Ash said and the guardian nodded.

"Looks like all the boxes are filled and Celebi seems to have finished its conversation with your Lucario so it's nearly time for us to part ways, but before I do I need to ask you a favour. Can you please take Leo with you off this island? he'll be a great addition to your battle against Team Infinta"

"If he wants to come of course he can, the resistance doesn't turn anyone down", Ash replied and the guardian nodded.

Ash's watch started to beep and he moved his hand to it pressing the accept button, "Ash you were right Team Infinta has arrived, Ash there's so many of them, we're trying to hold them off, but we're outnumbered we need your help", Max's voice echoed out the watch.

"We're on our way, hold them for as long as you can", Ash replied.

"Will do Ash, hurry", Max replied ending the call.

"We've got to get back to them as quickly as we can, but we can't allow the vials to be damaged while we're trying to stop Team Infinta", Misty said and Ash nodded.

"Ash the vials can't be allowed to be damaged they need to be taken to the carrier and placed somewhere safe. Ash your friends need you right now so you can't take them yourself. If Misty and Leo go to the carrier with the vials they can unload them and then come back to join you and the others", Lucario's voice said inside Ash's head.

Ash turned to Lucario nodding at him before turning to face Misty and Leo, "We're going to have to split up, Leo do you a pokemon who can fly you and Misty to the carrier?" Ash replied turning to face Leo who nodded at him.

"Yes I have a Hydreigon", Leo answered.

"That's great, I need you to pack all the boxes into Misty's bag, my backpack and your backpack and fly to the carrier. When you get there leave the bag somewhere safe and then come back and join me and the others. We need to hold off Team Infinta long enough to give Celebi time to time lock the lake", Ash continued and Leo and Misty nodded sliding their bags off this back, Ash gave Misty his backpack as well watching as Misty and Leo started to pack the boxes into the bags. "Well it's be great to see you again, maybe we'll see each other again in the future", Ash added turning to face the guardian.

"Maybe we will Ash, good luck in the days and months to come", the guardian replied and Ash nodded extending his hand out to the guardian who took it shaking it.

Ash watched as Misty and Leo placed the last two boxes into Misty's bag before Misty placed it on her shoulder adding Ash's backpack to her other shoulder while Leo placed his on his shoulder. Misty and Leo moved over to Ash and the guardian. Ash watched Leo pull a pokeball out his pocket releasing his **Hydreigon.**

"Leo before you go I just want to apologise for the way I've acted towards you these years since my son died, it wasn't your fault he died. I guess I was just looking for someone to blame and because you were the one to tell those hunters about this island you were an easy target. You weren't to know they were hunters and that they would come here. Leo before you leave this island tell your mum that I let my anger break our family apart and that maybe when the time lock breaks we can get back to being a normal family,", the guardian said placing his hand on Leo's shoulder to stop him from climbing on his pokemon.

Leo turned to face the guardian and the guardian took his hand away returning it to his side, "No worries I know you didn't mean it , you were just angry uncle , mum will be glad to hear that she's going to get to see you again even if it's not for like another five years", Leo answered.

"Uncle, the guardian is your uncle", Ash said looking between Leo and the guardian as he called Lucario back to his pokeball.

"Yeah, I did tell you I was brought back to the island because my family needed me, that was just after my cousin was killed. My mum lost her nephew and brother that day and I couldn't continue my journey knowing that she was alone here on the island. My dad left us when I was seven so she raised me by herself with a little help from my uncle of course so without him to talk to she felt really lonely" Leo answered and Ash nodded. "Well uncle good luck and I'll see in five years, we better get going Ash's friends need our help", Leo continued and everyone nodded.

Ash pulled Charizard's pokeball off his belt calling out his pokemon climbing onto his back watching as Misty and Leo climbed onto Hydregion. Both pokemon pushed off from the ground rising through the trees till they were above the treeline heading off together towards the town.

Ash spotted the battle going on just outside the town before Misty and Leo, about a third of the members of Team Infinta managed to get past Max and the others. Ash's friends are trying to get back in front of them, but they're outnumbered and they're struggling to keep the rest of the members of Team Infinta behind them. "Ash they're in trouble", Misty called across to Ash.

"I know, I need to get the others back in front of the members of Team Infinta that have managed to get in front of them. Misty get back here as soon as you and I'm sorry about what I'm about to do. I know I promised I wouldn't do anything stupid anymore, but well here goes. Charizard let out a roar to announce our arrival and then dive to the floor as fast as you can", Ash replied and Charizard nodded. Ash looked at Misty's face and could see she wasn't happy, but she didn't have time to say anything before Charizard let out a roar before pulling his wings into his body. Ash could see that everyone had noticed their arrival and his friends were cheering and calling his name.

Charizard and Ash zoomed down towards the floor and Ash waited till they were only a few feet from the ground before releasing all his pokemon while jumping off Charizard back. Ash landed in a crouch sending a wave off aura out knocking back the members of Team Infinta who had got close to him. Charizard landed on the ground next to the other pokemon and Pikachu jumped off his back joining them. Ash jumped out the crouch firing off balls of aura at the members of Team Infinta forcing them to retreat a few steps giving Ash the chance to call Max, "Max don't worry about holding the members of Team Infinta in your current location, just get to me."

"Okay will do", Max replied ending the call.

"Guys we need to hold them off alone until the other join us, you up for a fight?" Ash asked his pokemon and they all nodded at him. The members of Team Infinta ordered their pokemon to attack, but Ash's pokemon were ready, Lucario jumped up into the air with Pikachu beside him and they both fired off attacks at the pokemon. Lucario's aura blast crashed into the pokemon who were leading attack knocking them back into the next row of pokemon. Pikachu's thunderbolt crashed into next knocking them into the third row of pokemon. The rest of Ash's pokemon joined in firing their attacks off pushing Team Infinta back a little bit more.

Ash looked past the members of Team Infinta watching as Brock, May, Max, Tracey, Dawn appeared running full speed past the members of Team Infinta joining Ash calling out their pokemon. "Guys we have to hold them for as long as we can, the guardian of the lake is working to make sure the lake can't be used by Team Infinta. It's along story so I just need you to trust me. Misty and Leo are heading to the carrier with the water we collected from the lake, once they've done that they're going to come back and help us", Ash said to his friends who nodded at him. Ash looked at each of his friends pokemon stopping at Max's pokemon noticing for the first time that he's evolved his Kirla into a Gallade. "Max you've evolved your Kirla", Ash said and Max nodded.

"I felt it was the right time, oh here comes the rest of them", Max replied and Ash turned watching as the rest of the members joined the group that Ash had landed in front of. "Well we better give the guardian the time he needs. Gallade, Grovyle use leaf blade. Spheal use ice beam, Taillow you use wing attack, Magby flamethrower and Electrike hit them with your thunderbolt" Max's pokemon's attack flew towards the pokemon belonging to Team Infinta forcing them to retreat slightly.

The next twenty minutes was a blur to Ash, both sides exchanged attacks each taking out a few pokemon from each side, but Ash knows that they're still massively outnumbered here. There's six of them against about one hundred and even with Ash and Lucario working together it's still a battle to keep them from getting any closer to the lake. Ash keeps looking to the sky searching for any sign of Misty and Leo's arrival, but there's still no sign of them.

Ash fired a massive blast of aura out knocking three trainers and their pokemon off their feet stepping forward choosing a new target to focus on as his watch started to beep. Ash pressed the button on his watch to accept it before sending a ball of aura to intercept an attack that was about to hit Max. "Ash we're coming and we're bringing help", Misty's voice said out of the watch.

"Hurry", was all Ash could say as he blocked an attack that was being aimed at him. Ash ended the call returning his focus to the battle at hand. Ash has asked his pokemon to move around trying to assist any of his friends who look like they need it while Ash uses his aura to try and turn the tide where he is. Ash spotted Lucario jumping around in front of him and he summoned aura to his hand grabbing the members of Team Infinta in front of him moving them slightly out the way so he can see what's happening with Lucario. Lucario is surrounded by seven trainer and all their pokemon. "Lucario hold on", Ash called to his pokemon using their aura connection and he watched as Lucario turned to his direction nodding.

Ash spotted Pikachu a few feet away and he called to his partner, "Pikachu I need you." Pikachu turned to him nodding, running up to him, Ash summoned aura grabbing Pikachu throwing him towards Lucario who jumped into the air catching him.

"Gallade help Ash", Ash heard Max call from somewhere around him. Gallade appeared next to him grabbing Ash by the waist. Ash blinked and he found himself in the circle with Lucario and Pikachu. "Ahhh", Max screamed from somewhere to Ash's left outside the circle of enemy trainers.

"Gallade go, we'll be okay", Ash said and Gallade nodded teleporting away. "Okay it up to us guys, you two take that side and I'll take this side", Ash called to his pokemon and they nodded at him firing attacks towards the pokemon on their side. Ash summoned a shield to protect himself from the attacks that the pokemon were firing him, holding it till the attacks ended pushing the shield of aura away from him into the pokemon taking all the pokemon in the way of the shield out of action making a gap in the circle. That gap was soon taken advantage of as the rest of Ash's pokemon rushed through along with Brock and Tracey. Ash's pokemon joined Lucario and Pikachu while Brock and Tracey along with their pokemon joined Ash on his side taking the fight to the pokemon belonging to Team Infinta. "Is Max okay?" Ash asked turning to Brock.

"Yeah he's fine he was hit by a shard of ice that one of the pokemon fired across his left arm, he's not allowing it to stop him though he's with May and Dawn taking out as many people as they can. How much longer do you think we need to hold them?"

"I don't know, not much longer I'm sure", Ash replied.

"Boss another group of people have just joined the battle, they've come from the town, we're being attacked from both sides now. Half our force is out of action we can't keep this up much longer", Ash turned watching a new member of Team Infinta ran up to join the circle.

"Misty", Ash said smiling at Brock and Tracey who returned the smile turning their attention back to the trainers in front of them firing attacks left right and center to take out as many trainers and pokemon as they could..

Misty and Leo joined them a few minutes later, Misty's Breloom blasted pokemon out of their way with aura spheres and energy balls. Misty smiled at Ash as she moved to stand next to him taking his hand into her. Max, Dawn and May joined them from the opposite side and they merged into one group without a word continuing the fight moving out of the middle of the circle to the edge of the battleground with the path to the lake behind them.

Ash felt the ground start to shake slightly beneath his feet a few minutes after they reached the edge of the battle. Ash could se Misty had felt it too because they both turned to the direction of the lake watching as a large beam of light shot upwards into the sky from it's location as the vibration got stronger and stronger. Ash could see his friends were all looking at him wondering what was going on, "Everyone fall back to the town, this battle is over", Ash shouted and they nodded calling back their pokemon following Ash through the battle calling to their allies to follow them as they moved past the members of Team Infinta not bothering to pay them any attention.

"What was that light?" Max asked as he caught up with Ash.

"The end of the battle, I'll explain more when we get back to the carrier", Ash replied and Max nodded.

Ash could see that Team Infinta didn't understand why Ash was telling him allies to fall back to the town, but they are happy Ash is retreating. They think that they have won and are now moving off towards the lake. Ash wishes he could see the look on their faces once they realise the lake isn't there anymore, but they need to get everyone back onto the carrier and take off before Team Infinta arrives back from lake wanting to restart the battle. Ash wishes he could take some members of Team Infinta prisoners, but there's to many of them compared to the force Ash has got onto the island right now so he'll let them leave today and take them prisoner another day. "Five islands down just one to go", Ash called to his friends who nodded as they reached the entrance to the town.


	27. A Night Of New Information

"So once I felt the ground shake and a large beam of light shoot up into the sky from the location of the lake I know that the mission had succeeded. We had managed to keep the lake out of the hands of Team Infinta and it was time to move on to the last island in the Miracle Islands", Ash explained to everyone sat around the conference table.

Even though it was close to midnight by the time that Ash and the other reached the island, the champions had been ready to have a meeting as long as Ash was up to it. Ash agreed mostly because he wanted to find out what had happened since he left the island. All of Ash's friends who went with him to the Miracle Islands joined the meeting as well. The champions agreed with Ash that his friends deserve to know everything that is about to be discussed in this meeting after all they've done for the resistance and if Ash wants to he can tell the rest of his friends who are in bed at the moment the information as well.

"Okay, so that's five out of the six islands so far, what happened on the final island?", Cynthia asked from her chair around the table.

"Well after the battle on the fifth island the sixth island was a bit tame, we split into two groups. Well when I say group I took Misty and Max with me to visit Ivan the guy who made Misty's cure while everyone else focused on everyone in the town to see if they needed help or wanted to join our fight. So my group headed to Ivan's house and explained the threat of Team Infinta and how they might come and find him since he can create different healing remedies. It turned out he put two and two together and realised that Team Infinta would soon be coming for him. He had started to put a plan into motion to make sure they didn't get their hands on him, but now that I had turned up he didn't need the plan anymore he just needed my help to pack everything up ready to be brought back here to the island he wants to help us. We just need to find him somewhere above ground to use as his lab and then he'll start to make us some medicines and remedies. There is one other thing he needs from us though. It turns out about ten years ago he had an apprentice that he was training to carry on his work once he's no longer here, the apprentice had to leave the island just before he finished his apprenticeship because his family needed him to come home his mum was sick. Ivan said that as long as he hasn't moved we should find the apprentice in Lavaridge Town in the Hoenn region", Ash replied.

"Well that's good news to hear about Ivan joining our cause, as for the apprentice I'm sure we can see if we can find him when we send the next mission to Hoenn. So now that we're up to date with what happened during your mission how about we bring you up to speed with what happened during our missions as well", Steven answered and Ash nodded at his fellow champion, "So Ash I asked Jessie and James about Delta base like you told me to and it turned out it was a slightly abandoned Team Rocket base in the mountains in the far north of the Kanto region. When I say slightly abandoned it's only manned by like ten people and their main jobs are to research and develop new ways to capture pokemon including knock out gases, traps anything that can be used to complete their mission to capture all pokemon and take control of all the regions. Another use of the base was a storage area for anything that they don't need anymore or have no use of at that moment. Ash the base is stocked with jamming devices, cloaking devices and Ash if we can get them up and running again another three carriers. We've sent a team of people back to the base to bring everything back to the island and to see if they can get those other carrier travel worthy again", Steven continued.

"Whoa that's amazing, do we know if there are anymore bases place around the regions that may hold more stuff we can use to fight this war?" Ash replied.

"Well between what Jessie and James heard whispers about and information from the people who were stationed at Delta base we believe there may be another four bases worth checking out. When we're in an area close to one we'll go and see, but we won't be sending any groups specially to check them out because we're not sure if they're even accessible or safe anymore considering that there was members of Team Infinta placed inside Team Rockets ranks", Steven answered and Ash nodded

"So did you find Alain?" Ash asked.

"Yes I did, he managed to make his way there after Team Infinta had taken over along with a group of people he managed to find on his way there and they were all lying low with the ex members of Team Rocket that were stationed there. When we arrived we had a slight fight, but as soon as Alain realised it was me he ordered everyone to stand down and allow us entry. It seems he be voted the leader of their group, me and Alain spoke for a while and I explained what was going on and what the resistance's objective was he agreed to join up with us", Steven replied.

"That's great news, is he here on the island now or still back at the base?" Ash asked.

"Here on the island. He was a bit upset to hear you weren't back here at the island, but I said you be back soon and he told me to tell you Ash he wants to catch up with you when you've got time", Steven answered and Ash nodded.

"What about the second thing I mentioned to you, Iro being in Pallet Town", Ash asked.

"Yep Alec was right about that to, we arrived in Pallet Town just before Iro did and we set a trap, we managed to capture him and the ten members of Team Infinta that he had with him. We've converted a section of the base into temporary cells just until we're ready to take back the actual prison, we're having your prisoners placed there was well as we speak" Steven answered.

"Well now that you mentioned the prison there was something else that Alec wrote in his letter to do with the prison, well actually a few things. Right to start of with four days from tomorrow morning we need to head to the prison because according to Alec most of the force that is stationed there will be leaving it. Alec believes there should only be about four or five people left there so it should be easy to take control of. Whoever we send there will have to wait till the members of Team Infinta that are leaving the prison have travelled far enough away that they won't notice us landing or be in range to come back and help their fellow members", Ash explained.

"Okay say we do manage to take control of the prison again, the main worries me and our fellow champions have been having Ash is how do we keep hold of it long term. Yes we can take control of it, but how do we keep it if lets say one of the Immortals turn up?" Alder asked.

"Well I do have a plan for that as well, well a plan with two parts. The first part involves sending a force including you Steven to Sinnoh in two days from tomorrow to meet up the frontier brains who at the moment are seeking refugee on the battle pyramid. While you're doing this me and my Lucario will be heading to the Kanto region to visit the tree of Beginnings to talk to the legendary pokemon who have travelled to meet with us there. They're going to offer to help us and I'm going to accept that offer of help between the frontier brains and the legendary pokemon I'm sure we can hold the prison for long enough for me to get there if the Immortals try and attack the prison", Ash explained and everyone in the room nodded at him. Ash hadn't told any of his friends what was in the letter not even Misty. They hadn't asked, Ash was sure they knew he would tell them everything sooner or later so they just were happy to wait.

"Okay well that sounds like a plan, if we add another thirty people to the frontier brains and the help from the pokemon we should be secure enough if any force except the Immortals turn up", Cynthia noted and Ash nodded at her.

"Well that's everything I've got to tell you, so now it's your turn", Ash replied.

"Okay so I promised during our call I would bring you up to date with everything going on and I will. To start of with I should tell you that this island isn't the only base that is being used by the resistance. It's the main one, but we do have three smaller bases placed around the regions that are being used by small forces that we've got positioned there. One of the bases which is located near Mountain Silver in the middle of the boundaries between the Kanto and Johto region is in control of Lance and his sister Clair. I'm not sure if you noticed Ash that there was never any mention of Lance in the wanted posters, nor was he in the prison with the rest of the gym leaders and families", Steven explained.

"Well I did wonder why there was never any word from you or Misty or a wanted poster about Lance from Team Infinta, but I just never got round to asking since I was busy with all the different missions", Ash stated and Steven nodded.

"That was because Team Infinta couldn't be sure if they were alive or dead, on the day the Immortals awoke the gym in Blackthorn City was attacked. This bit of information was only known by me up to the point when the other champions were freed; I had managed to get a warning to Lance before Team Infinta came to the gym. They barricaded themselves in knowing that sooner or later Team Infinta would give up trying to enter and just resort to destroying the gym with them supposedly inside. What Team Infinta didn't know was that Lance and Clair had put an emergency tunnel out of the gym just encase something bad happened and they couldn't use the main entrance to escape. So they used this tunnel and it brought them out in the Dragon's Den and they used these tunnels to travel to the Dragon Holy Land where they stayed hidden for a day to make sure that Team Infinta believes that they had perished in the gym. They then headed out of Blackthorn City together avoiding the members of Team Infinta by flying as high as possible in the clouds out of sight. They only landed when necessary and reached the base in the dead of night. They've been there ever since recruiting more allies for us and undergoing missions in the two regions to help us out. Ash Lance has also been keeping an eye on the locations of the temples in those two regions and he's reported back that over the last few days the defences on them have been upped massively. The other two bases aren't as active, but they're reporting back some helpful information which we can use in the war ahead, they're based in the Hoenn and Sinnoh region. There are bases in the Kalos and Unova regions, but as far as we know there isn't anyone using them at the moment, we've been thinking of sending a small force to each so that we can gain as much information as we can before we try and take them back", Steven continued.

"Well I'm glad to hear that Lance and Clair are okay and you're right about sending a small force to the Kalos and Unova region. Any information we can gain about the forces in each region will be a great help, it could mean the difference between victory and defeat. So what else have we got going on at the moment?" Ash replied.

"Well we've also managed to smuggle seven members of the resistance in to the Grandis region about ten days ago where they've been hiding out a couple of miles from Callidus City. They've been keeping a close eye on the coming and goings and have managed to enter the city undetected everyday to learn anything they can. We learnt that most of the regions inhabitants have been moved into the city, but only about sixty percent of the region are actually anything to do with Team Infinta. About half of the people who aren't anything to do with Team Infinta just want the war to end and would really like the resistance to actually be the victors. Ash they're scared out their minds. Since the Immortals rose there's been one Immortal forever placed in that city, it switches between the Immortal of water, Hydris and the Immortal of fire, Flareo. Our spies over heard two members of Team Infinta chatting after coming out of a meeting and the gist of it is that Team Infinta isn't really paying much attention to what's happening around the rest of the Grandis region, they're confident that they've got complete control there. But because of our work in the other regions they're worried that sooner or later the Grandis region won't always be safe anymore. Ash our spies have found out that in the next few days work on a wall is to start that will circle the whole city, they've drafted in every able man, woman and child to help build it from that region and could soon look to the other regions for more workers. The people have no choice, but to obey because if they don't they risk imprisonment or being evicted from the city", Alder answered taking over control of the meeting.

"They're building a wall around the city?", Ash repeated and Alder nodded, "So by the time we probably reach the Grandis region and attempt to wake Lucida we're going to find ourselves face to face with a wall",Ash continued.

"Yeah unfortunately that is probably what is going to happen. Ash I know it's annoying, but unfortunately there isn't much we can do about it. There are too many members of Team Infinta placed in that city for us to attack right now and even if we did try we probably end up being attack from behind when they call to the regions for reinforcements. Ash we need to take control of the regions first and gain more allies and then we head to the Grandis region without worrying about being attacked from both sides once we get there. Ash if we can make it so that the only members of Team Infinta that are left are all in the city it'll be a lot easier to end this war. Ash we'll just have to destroy the wall once we get there", Diantha answered and Ash nodded.

"I guess, right lets not dwell on that since there is nothing we can do about it right now. If our spies keep sending us back information maybe we can learn the best place to attack around the city wall once we get there. Is there anything else we need to discuss?" Ash said and the champions nodded at him.

"Well I don't think there are many more important things to tell you right now, we can chat about a few small things over the next few days when we get an update on them. Ash is there is something else I thought you might to know, Edward is going to pull through the people we brought into treat him managed to stabilise him. It's going to take a few months, but he'll be back to full health. We're going to keep him in the infirmary for the next few days until we retake the prison and then we'll move him there where he'll continue his treatment in a cell", Steven answered.

"Well that's good to hear, I never meant to lose control like that or to hurt him as bad as I did. I just wanted him to feel how much pain he and his arsehole organisation had caused me and the rest of the world. I think it be best if I don't see him anymore", Ash replied happy to hear that Edward isn't going to die.

"Yeah I think keeping your distance would be good. Well it is late so how about we call it a night and pick this up tomorrow again. You've all had a few busy days recently so I think having a comfy bed would do you all good. Me and my fellow champions would like to thank you all for your help over the last six weeks, especially your work over the last weeks and it's because of this that we've agreed that minus Ash's journey to the tree of beginning and maybe a quick visit to the prison we're giving you the next week or so off. Take this time to recover and catch up with your friends and family so that when the time comes for us to leave this island and head to Kanto to start the battle to take back the regions you'll all be at your best", Cynthia replied and Ash and all his friends nodded at her pushing their chair away from the table getting up.

"Ash could we just have one last quick word alone before you head to bed", Steven asked and Ash nodded.

"I'll wait for you outside babe", Misty stated and Ash nodded watching his friends move out the room.

"So guys what's up?" Ash asked once all his friends had left closing the door behind them.

"Well Ash me and my fellow champions have been talking and we just wanted your opinion as well. We've been continuing to call ourselves champions even though at this moment we can't even enter the regions without having to worry about being caught. Our roles now are so much more than just being a champion now; we're the leaders of an organisation trying to bring peace back to the world so we've been thinking that maybe we should change the way we present ourselves. We're starting to turn into an army so because of that we think that maybe we should rank like an army. Me, Cynthia, Alder and Diantha think that maybe we should be captains and Ash we want you to take control of the resistance we want you to be our leader. Ash you're the face of the resistance, you the one everyone calls to when they want assistance. Everybody on this island is willing to follow you and it is only with your help that we can actually end this war", Steven answered.

"But I don't even know how to lead, I've never really had a position of authority", Ash stuttered.

"Ash we know, but you won't be leading it on your own. Ash me and the other champions will be with you every step of the way to help you. Ash if we want to gain more allies then need to know that we've got a chance to win and when they see you they'll know they can trust us. Ash your allies in the regions have been telling everyone how great you are and how all your mission have been success including how you managed to save hundreds of trainers from the trap at the tournament. Ash promise me you'll think about it, talk to Misty and your friends before you give us an answer please there's no rush", Cynthia replied and Ash nodded.

"I'll think about it, right I better go and join Misty she's waiting for me outside", Ash replied and Steven and the others nodded at him. Ash moved over to the door stepping spotting Misty stood talking to Master Atticus.

"Hi Master Atticus, did you need something?" Ash called and Misty and Master Atticus turned to face him.

"Ah Ash, I was just telling Misty that me and my fellow Masters needed to talk to you quickly in my room", Master Atticus replied moving to stop in front of Ash.

"Okay will it take long? It's just I was looking forward to going to bed soon, I'm exhausted", Ash asked.

"No only a few minutes", Master Atticus replied and Ash nodded.

"Okay I'll be there in a minute, meet you there", Ash explained and Master Atticus nodded smiling moving back down the corridor. "Misty why don't you head back to our room and I'll meet you there", Ash said turning to face Misty.

"Okay don't be long babe", Misty replied.

Ash felt one of his pokeball shake on his bed and he knew who was coming out before he appeared in front of him. Lucario looked over at Ash and a few seconds later Lucario's voice echoed inside Ash's head, "Ash we need to talk, it's about what me and Celebi were talking about at the lake, we need to be alone once you've finished with the Masters come meet me in the battlefield room."

"Okay Lucario see you there", Ash replied and Lucario nodded at him running down the corridor after Master Atticus.

"Don't tell me, Lucario wants a word as well", Misty sighed and Ash nodded, "You're very popular tonight Ash, do I need to announce I would like to talk to you as well?" Misty continued.

"Misty I'm sorry, I'll try and be quick don't worry", Ash replied and Misty let out another sigh before nodding taking Ash's hand in hers.

"I'll walk with you till we need to separate", Misty stated and Ash nodded moving off with her. "So what did the Steven and the others want to talk to you about Ash?"

"Oh well they've decided that since we can't enter the regions at the moment without being hunted we can't really call ourselves champions of the regions anymore. They want us instead to be labelled like an army, they want to be captain and they want me to take control and by the leader of the organisation and its army", Ash replied.

"Well that's a massive honour, Ash I think you would make a great leader. I know I would follow you anywhere and I know Brock and the other would say the same", Misty admitted and Ash smiled.

"Misty I just don't know if I'm ready to be a leader. It's one thing to lead my friends in a mission it's another thing to lead an whole organisation. Steven and the others say they'll help me, but I'm just worried I'll make a mistake and we'll lose the war because of it. They've said they don't need an answer yet and that I should talk to you and the others before I do give an answer", Ash replied.

"Ash I believe in you and I know all our friends believe in you as well. Ash everyone on this island believes in you, around the regions there are thousands if not hundred of thousands of people who believe in you. The pokemon believe in you, Lucario came back to help you because he believe that you were the person to bring peace back to this world. Ash a being thousands of years old chose you to be her hero because she believed in you; Ash isn't that enough evidence that you're the right person for the job. Ash believe in yourself because you're the right person for this job", Misty answered and Ash couldn't help, but smile at her closing the gap between them kissing her softly on the lips.

"Misty I love you", Ash whispered.

"And I love you to Ash; right seems this is where we split. Ash just think about what I said won't you, see you when you get back to the room", Misty replied and Ash nodded sliding his hand out of Misty's watching as she continued down the corridor and he turned off moving further into the accommodation section of the base.

Ash knocked lightly against Master Atticus door so not to wake anyone in the rooms close by. The door opened a few seconds later and he stepped in looking around at the people sat around the room. Along with the Masters from the temple in the Miracle islands there are Masters from the temples based in different locations around the room as well. Master Atticus closed the door behind Ash motioning for Ash to follow him moving over to two chair sliding down on own while motioning or Ash to take the second chair.

"Right before we discuss why we've brought Ash here tonight, why doesn't everyone introduce themselves", Master Axel suggested and everyone nodded. The masters went round one by one introducing themselves to Ash. Ash tried to remember all of them, but he knew he was going to ask one of the masters from the Miracle islands to remind him of some of them.

"Thank you for coming Ash, I know you must be tired so we'll be quick. For the last two days me and my fellow Masters have been in deep discussions about you Ash, you're the strongest aura guardian we've seen in over a hundred years and you've managed to learn ways to manipulate aura quicker and more successfully than anyone I've ever known or read about. Ash I sent you away from this island to take a test and you've returned triumphant. That temple has sat in the cave for year after year without anyone being able to fulfil the requirements to enter so well done. Ash I can see that the journey was fruitful because I sense something different about you, you learnt something about that I believe can help you to end this war, but more than that I think you've started to truly understand what it takes to be a true aura guardian. Ash yesterday I felt a huge amount of aura being used somewhere in the Miracle islands and unlike when I felt it here on the island you were in control of it this time. Ash so back to why we asked you to come here tonight, so after much discussion between me and my fellow master we have decided that is only right that we name you an aura guardian master", Master Atticus said and Ash fought to take in the last part.

"You want to name me a Master", Ash stuttered and everyone around the room nodded at him.

"Yes Master Ash we do you've earned it in so many different ways. Ash we've called you here tonight for more than just naming you as master we want to ask for you help as well. As the masters of the temples we should be the greatest aura guardians that the world has seen, but we are no where near as powerful or skilled as you are. Master Ash we need you to help us to improve, so please would you be willing to train us". Master Alexis said from across the room.

"Train you", Ash repeated.

"Yes am I right in saying you and your Lucario train with each other most nights? I believe I saw you training on the top of the pokemon center the day we named you an aura guardian. Ash we know that we can never be as good as you, it seems to come so easy for you, but maybe you can teach us some of the simpler techniques so that we can help the resistance when we head to take back the regions", Master Axel replied from the seat next to Master Alexis.

"Yes we try to train as much as we can, my fellow Masters I don't know if I'm the best person to train you, but I'll give it a go. Meet me in the battlefield room tomorrow afternoon around three with all the aura guardians on this island present and have our first lesson", Ash replied and all the Masters nodded at him.

"Thank you Master Ash we'll have everyone there at three for you, we won't disappoint you. I'm sure you've got things to do before you call it a night so we'll see you tomorrow", Master Atticus said and Ash nodded pushing himself off his chair moving across the room to the door opening it and stepping out.

Whoa he's having a lot of stuff chucked at him tonight Ash thought to himself as he moved down the corridor. First the champions want him to be the leader of the organisation, now the aura guardians have named him a master and want him to train them, what's next? Is Lucario going to announce something massive as well, well only one way to find out lets go and meet him.

Ash stepped into the battleground spotting Lucario sat in the middle of the room meditating. He must have heard Ash enter because he opened his eyes looking up at Ash moving towards him. "Ah Ash you've arrived, well I'll keep it quick I'm sure you want to get back to Misty", Lucario said as he jumped up off the floor as Ash reached the middle of the room.

"Indeed I do Lucario", Ash replied.

"Well I asked you to come here alone because I think you agree that maybe it is best if we keep this between us so not to alarm everyone. Ash when I was talking to Celebi he told me that the future had been changed slightly, the water he gave you the first time we went to the lake wasn't meant to be used on May. Because Alec changed what happened at Pallet Town everything that followed changed as well. We weren't supposed to still be at Terra Estate when Team Infinta's reinforcements and Umbra arrived. In the original timeline we were supposed to have left the island a few hours after we got back from Hoenn and because of this we would have been most of the ways from the islands before the reinforcements arrived. Ash the water was always meant to be used on the last day of the war and I'm sorry to say that the event is still going to happen. Ash you need to have a vial of water with you then to save someone. Celebi couldn't tell me who is injured just that they're trapped in a collapsed building", Lucario explained.

"Lucario the vials are being locked away at the moment ready for when the war begins. Lucario I told Steven and the others how many vials there supposed to be in the boxes, they'll notice if I take one and then questions will still be asked", Ash replied.

"Ash you need to get one of those vials, so you're going to have to find a way if you want to save whoever is stuck in that collapsed building", Lucario countered.

"Well I guess if I talk to Steven and the others about what you've just told me and ask them not to mention it to anyone else I could take one of the vials. I know they would understand that it's important and I could say that it's one of the conditions I agree to take control of the resistance", Ash replied and Lucario nodded at him.

"Ash however you do it is up to you, but you do need one. Ash Celebi told me quite a few things he seen some of them you already know through Alec's letter, but there quite a few things that will be new to you. It'll take to long to go into them all tonight so we'll have to discuss it sometime tomorrow instead, but before we call it a night there is something else important I need to tell you. Celebi wants me to remind you that all the pokemon are behind you and that no good deed goes unrewarded. Ash you've saved the world so many times and helped so many pokemon, but you've never asked for anything in return, Celebi wants you to know that if there is ever anything you need all you need to do is ask, some how they'll try and complete your request", Lucario said and Ash nodded at his pokemon.

"I'll keep that in mind", Ash replied.

"Right lets call it a night, we'll continue this in the morning I think we could both do with some down time we've had a busy week and not much time to relax in between missions. I'm going to head to the habitat room, I'll see you in the morning", Lucario suggested and Ash nodded moving with his pokemon over to the door opening it stepping out.


End file.
